MacCombe

This interesting and unusual surname is of Scottish origin, and is the Anglicization of the Gaelic "Mac Thom", which translates as "son of Tom", the Mac denoting "son of", and is often found recorded in England as Thom. Thomas, and its diminutive form Thom, is a popular medieval given name of biblical origin, which was an Aramaic byname meaning "twin", borne by one of Christ's disciples, best known for his scepticism. The surname development in Scotland since 1526 (see below) includes the following: Roger M'Com (1679, Kirkcudbright), and Robert McKome (1684, Carsfern). The modern variants include, McColm, McComb, McCome and McKomb. Among the recordings from Scottish Church Registers are the marriages of Robert Mc Combe and Margaret Ross on December 28th 1711, at Dalkeith, Midlothian, and of Archibald Mc Comb and Elizabeth Forrest on October 13th 1745, at Edinburgh, also in Midlothian. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Gilchrist Makcome, which was dated 1526, in the "Register of the Privy Seal of Scotland", during the reign of King James V of Scotland, 1513 - 1542. 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.