Loomis

This name, with variant spellings Lomaz, Lumox, Lummus, Lummis and Lo(o)mis, is of English locational origin from Lomax, a now lost place originally near Bury in Lancashire. Recorded in the Middle Ages as Lumhalghs, the component elements of the placename are believed to be the pre 7th Century Old English "lumm", a pool, reflected in the dialectal term "lum" denoting a well for collecting water in a mine, plus "halh", a nook or recess. It is estimated that seven to ten thousand villages and hamlets have now disappeared from the maps in Britain. The prime cause of these "disappearances" was the enforced "clearing" and dispersal of the former inhabitants to make way for sheep pastures at the height of the wool trade in the 14th Century, along with natural causes such as the Black Death of 1348. On November 8th 1549, Elizabeth Lomas, an infant, was christened in Farnworth near Prescot, and on January 13th 1562, Alice Lomax and Roger Wroe were married in Middleton by Oldham, Lancashire. A Coat of Arms granted to the Lomas family depicts three black fleurs-de-lis arranged in a vertical line between two red palets or narrow vertical bands - all on a silver shield with a blue chief. A pelican with her wings endorsed, neck embowed and pecking her breast is on the crest. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Blaunche Lommas, (christened), which was dated December 9th 1538, Farnworth near Prescot, Lancashire, during the reign of King Henry V111, known as "Bluff King Hal", 1509 - 1547. 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.