Lum

Recorded as Lom, Lomb, Loome, Loomes, Lumb, Lum, and Lumm, this is an English medieval surname. It has several possible origins, the most likely being from Lamb, an early Olde English pre 7th century name of endearment. Another is that it is topographical and describes a person who lived by a 'lumm'. This was the ancient word for a pool or small lake, as in John del Lumme of Wakefield in Yorkshire, in the year 1327. It may be assumed that most people from the north of England called Lumm or Lumb will originate from the second situation. It is also possible that the name may have been a medieval nickname for a gentle, inoffensive person, or given the robust attitudes of the Chaucerian period, the complete reverse! Other possibilities are that it could derive from the English personal name Lambert, itself from the Old German elements "land", meaning territory, plus "berht", bright. The surname was first recorded towards the end of the 12th century, (see below), with other recordings from the same period including Ralph le Lomb of Norfolk in 1327. The first recorded spelling of the family name may be that of Simon Lomb also of Norfolk, in the tax register known as the Feet of Fines for the year 1198. This was during the reign of King Richard 1st, known as "The Lionheart", 1189 - 1199. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.