Combes

This interesting name is of medieval English origin and is a dialectal of the locational or topographical name Coombe, itself from any of the numerous places named with the Old English pre 7th Century "cumb", denoting a short, straight valley. There are a large number of places in England, mostly spelled Combe, generally found in the south West, for example Doron, Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire and Surrey, and this surname may have any of these places as its source, or perhaps a dweller in a "Cumb". In the modern idiom the variants include "Co(u)mbe", Coom, Co(o)mb(e)s, Cumber(s) and Co(o)m(b)er. Amongst the sample recordings in Devon is the marriage between Mary Ann Coomber and John Pasmore on November 5th 1778, at Chittlehampton, and the christening of Philip Coombere on October 22nd 1780, at Stoke Fleming. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William le Combere (witness), which was dated 1260, in the "Assize Rolls of Cambridgeshire", during the reign of King Henry 111, known as "The Frenchman", 1216 - 1272. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.