In England and Wales, it is the 513th most common surname (based on a Sept 2002 database of the Office for National Statistics).
In Newfoundland, Pike is especially common, ranking 22nd among all surnames there (based on the 1955 voters list, as reported by E.R.
At the time of the British Census of 1881, its relative frequency was highest in Wiltshire (7.3 times the British average), followed by Dorset, Devon, Somerset, Berkshire, Hampshire, Nottinghamshire, Gloucestershire, the Channel Islands and Surrey.
[1] The surname has many variations such as Pikes, Pykes, McPike, Picke, Pique along with Speight.
Individuals may have adopted the surname based on physical attributes resembling Pike (the fish), an association with Pike (the weapon), or a turnpike (one of the early meanings of which was a turning pike, a horizontal timber that was mounted so as to be able to spin or turn (such turnpikes apparently served as barriers to prevent horses from accessing footpaths, and in other instances to block passage until a toll had been paid).