Crombleholme

This picturesque name is of Anglo-Norse Viking origins. It is locational and derives from a 'lost' medieval village, believed to have been in Lancashire. There are between five and seven thousand surnames which are in themselves the only reminder of the existence of a village, hamlet, or in some cases, just a solitary farmstead. Crombleholme, also found recorded as Cromblehome, Chromlholme, Crumbleholme, etc. (see below) translates as 'the small island' from the Old English pre 7th Century 'crymel', - a small piece of land, with the second element 'holme', the Old Norse for a piece of land in a fen. Lancashire abounds in similar examples, where the pre 7th century Olde English word has been piggy backed by an 8th century invasion name, and both mean essentially the same thing. An example is Pendle Hill, where 'penn' means 'hill', '(d)hyl' means 'hill' and 'hill' means 'hill' ! The village of Crumpelhorn in Cornwall probably has the same meaning and origin as 'Crombleholme', but does not appear to have produced any surnames. Examples of early church recordings all from Lancashire include the christening of Jefri Chromlholme on March 20th 1567 at the village of Chipping, and Elizabeth Crombleholme on April 26th 1595 at Whalley. Other recording examples are those of Mathew Croombhoolme (?) at Ribchester, on February 16th 1621, whilst on February 23rd 1679 the name make a rare appearance in London when John Cromblehome was christened at St Andrews Church, Holborn. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Robert Chromlholme, which was dated October 28th 1559, Chipping, Lancashire, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, known as "Good Queen Bess", 1558 - 1603. 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.