Cromleholme

This picturesque name is of Anglo Norse origin and is a locational name from a so called "lost" village, of which it is estimated, there are between seven and ten thousand that have disappeared from British maps. Crombleholme, also found recorded as Chromlholme and Crumbleholme, was likely to have once been situated in Lancashire, suggested by the numerous recordings in that county. The derivation is from the Old English pre 7th Century "crymel", meaning a small piece of land, itself a derivative of "cruma", a crumb, with the second element "holme", from the Old Norse "holme", a small island. Among the early recordings in Lancashire are the christenings of Jefri Chromlholme on March 20th 1567 at Chipping, and Elizabeth Crombleholme on April 26th 1595 at Whalley. 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.