Pike County, Alabama
Pike County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2010 census the population was 32,899. Its county seat is Troy. Its name is in honor of General Zebulon Pike, of New Jersey, an explorer who led an expedition to southern Colorado and discovered Pikes Peak in 1806.
Pike (surname)
The origins of the name are not entirely clear. 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). It has also been speculated that the name Pike might be derived in some instances from the word "peak", such as when somebody resided at the peak of a hill (note, for instance, the usage of the word "pike" in the name of Scafell Pike, England's highest mountain).