Inchcomb

This rare and unusual name is a derived form of the Old English pre 7th Century habitational word "Henchcumbe" - translating as "the steep valley". It is presumed that such a place once existed probably in the West Country, but if so we have not been able to positively identify the site. This is not unusual, some seven thousand plus surnames are known to originate from medieval places, now wholly lost, through famine, plague, civil war or farming. The recordings include the alternative spelling of Einchcombe, which appears in Surrey in 1843 when William Einchcombe is recorded as a witness at his daughter Emily Mary's christening at Long Ditton and Tolworth Church on September 17th of that year. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Robert Inchcomb, which was dated September 6th 1736, a witness at St. Botolphs, Bishopgate, London, during the reign of King George 11, known as "The Last Soldier King", 1727 - 1760. 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.