MCCOMBE
Recorded variant spellings include Mc Combe, Mccombe
McCombe is a surname of Gaelic and Scottish origin. In one tradition it derives from the Gaelic MacComaidh, meaning “son of the servant of St. Comhghán”. The saint was a 6th-century Irish religious figure. The element Comhghán combines the Gaelic words comh meaning together and ghán meaning birth. A separate tradition treats the name as an anglicisation of the Gaelic Mac Thom, meaning “son of Tom”. Tom is a medieval variant of the biblical name Thomas. A third hypothesis links the surname to the lands of Coemhan in Stirling or to the English topographic word combe, a deep hollow or valley.
The earliest attested form of the name is recorded in 1526 in the Register of the Privy Seal of Scotland as Gilchrist Makcome under King James V. Subsequent church registers document the marriage of Robert McCombe and Margaret Ross in 1711 at Dalkeith, Midlothian and of Archibald McComb and Elizabeth Forrest in 1745 at Edinburgh, Midlothian. The names Roger M’Com of Kirkcudbright appear in 1679 and Robert McKome of Carsfern in 1684.
Over time the surname has appeared in many spellings. Contemporary variants include McComb, McCome, McColm, McKomb, McKoombe, MacCombe, MacCoombe, Macomb, Macoombe, McCombee, MacKombee, Macombe and Makomb. Earlier records also contain the forms McKome and M’Com. In the United Kingdom the spelling McCombe is most common; in Ireland the forms MacComb, McComb and Makomb are more frequent, whereas in England the spelling McCombe predominates.
In the United Kingdom McCombe is most common in England, ranking 155th with an estimated 28,000 bearers. In Scotland it is the 222nd most frequent surname and in Ireland it ranks 169th. Census entries from 1865 and 1881 locate the name prominently in the Irish counties of Tyrone and Fermanagh, where it occurs alongside McClum. Outside the British Isles the name has spread to Canada, the United States, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, often in areas settled by immigrants from the United Kingdom. In the United States it is most frequently recorded in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania and lies beyond the top five thousand surnames nationally.
According to the documentary evidence, McCombe reflects a complex heritage that spans Gaelic patronymics, religious associations and topographical origins. Its various forms demonstrate the linguistic evolution that accompanies migration and administrative recording across centuries. The surname remains relatively uncommon, yet it has a discernible presence in the United Kingdom and its former colonies.
Typical given names associated with the McCombe surname
Male
- Alasdair
- Andrew
- David
- James
- John
- Matthew
- Michael
- Richard
- Robert
- Ross
- Stephen
- Terence
- Thomas
- William
Female
- Catherine
- Claire
- Elizabeth
- Grace
- Jean
- Jedan
- Kathleen
- Linda
- Margaret
- Mary
- Michelle
- Paula
- Sarah
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname McCombe in...
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Morse
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There are approximately 961 people named McCombe in the UK. That makes it roughly the 7,593rd most common surname in Britain. Around 15 in a million people in Britain are named McCombe.
Famous people named McCombe
- John McCombe - Football player
- Jamie McCombe - Football player
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.