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Pyrea/Pyrhea
Hi,My Mum and i need help! While doing our family tree she has come across some unusual names but the most unusual by far is Pyrea/Pyoreea/Pyorhea spelt in many different ways in different censuses. We believe it may be pronounced pie-ree-a or pie-or-ee-a. This name would have belonged to an English lady around the time of the English Civil War or maybe a bit later. We would love to know if anyone knows of this name or has any idea of its originsthanks in advance
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Well, a quick perusal of Google has turned up that pyrea, pyria, pyrrhea, and pyorhea are all listed as variants of the disease formerly known as trench mouth, which includes such lovely symptoms as bleeding from the gums. In addition, there is a flower known as Maytenus Pyria, which is probably related. Also, the Freemasons have a lot of literature including the word "pyrea" which, from the context, appears to be a sort of altar for burning things. There is also literature about Aristotle referring to a pyria as a burning-mirror, and apparently there was an ancient Athenian poet called Pyria. However, the best link to point you to is on this website --> Pyrrhus. Pyrrhea (and the other spelling variants) would be typical feminizations of this name. It wouldn't surprise me to see rather unusual Greek names in England at that time in history, as educated people would have been familiar with the classics. Pyrea is actually quite a nice name...too bad it's now the name of a disease and unusable!
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Hi,Thanks for looking! Ooooo lovely - Gum disease ! lol
i'll definately be having a look at that website thoughthanks again
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