Surname Dunscombe - Meaning and Origin
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Dunscombe: What does the surname Dunscombe mean?
The last name Dunscombe is a patronymic English name meaning "the son of Dunstan." The name Dunstan derives from the Old English words “dun” and “sten”, which together mean “dark stone” or “stone of darkness.” The name is likely to have been given to a person who lived by a dark stone or near a dark stony hill.
Dunscombe is a relatively rare surname primarily found in the Welsh county of Monmouth today. It may have also been used in Lancashire and Yorkshire in olden times. It is believed that the Dunscombe name may be derived from multiple different locations in the British Isles, such as Dunswood and Dunshall in Lancashire, Dunstone in Somerset, Dunstan Hill in Hertfordshire, and the Dunstan family estate in Cumberland.
The name Dunscombe is also found in Australia, mainly in the state of Victoria. Here, the name was given to a man named William Johnson Dunscombe, who was born in London in 1818 and emigrated to Port Philip (now Melbourne), Australia in 1841.
Despite its notable lack of presence, the surname has a long and interesting lineage across different parts of the world. It carries an air of mystery and a sense of the unknown, plus a hint of adventure. All this makes the name Dunscombe a timeless classic which can be passed down from generation to generation.
Order DNA origin analysisDunscombe: Where does the name Dunscombe come from?
The last name Dunscombe is most commonly found in countries of the British Isles, particularly England. It is believed to be an English surname of Anglo-Saxon origin, though it could also have come from a Norman French name. Its earliest records date to the 13th century, when it was connected with a small village located in the East Riding of Yorkshire.
Today, the majority of those with the Dunscombe surname are found in England, particularly in the counties of Yorkshire, Lancashire, Essex and Kent. It is also present in smaller numbers in Scotland, Wales, Ireland, the Isle of Man and other areas of the United Kingdom.
In addition, there is a small number of people with the last name Dunscombe outside of the British Isles. In countries like the United States, India, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, the surname is most commonly associated with immigrants who emigrated from the British Isles in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Given its English origin, the last name Dunscombe is likely to remain most common in the United Kingdom and descendants of its emigrants for many more generations to come.
Variations of the surname Dunscombe
The surname Dunscombe is an English surname derived from the Old English ‘Duns’ and ‘Andcombe’, which means ‘valley’ and ‘valley where the duns or hills meet’ respectively. Variants, spellings and surnames of the same origin of Dunscombe include Danscombe, Dunksome, Donscombe, Donksum, Dunksum, Dunham and Dansham.
Dunscombe is believed to be a locative surname derived from any of the various places in England with similar names. These places are located mainly in counties such as Surrey, Kent, Devon, Somerset, Dorset, Buckinghamshire, Wiltshire, Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, Warwickshire and Sussex.
The surname is one of the oldest recorded in England, first appearing in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it was written as Dunscoma. In the following centuries, Dunscombe and its variants were recorded in various historical documents such as the Hundred Rolls of 1279 where it appears as Dancumbe, and in the Poll Tax of Yorkshire of 1379 where it appears as Dunksum.
In the 16th century, the spelling of the surname began to change and new variants began to appear possibly as a result of mishearing words or of dialectal differences. In the modern day, Dunscombe and its variants are more common in North America, where many of the early settlers of the surname originated from.
Some notable people who bear the surname include English cricket player Jack Dunscombe, English businessman Thomas Danscombe, and American politician Thomas Dansham.
Famous people with the name Dunscombe
- Matthew Dunscombe: British painter who also works as a photographer and who is best known for his painting and photography of dedication to the memory of the 1989 Hillsborough football stadium disaster.
- Harry Dunscombe: British Olympic fencer and winner of the bronze medal in fencing during the 1912 Summer Olympics.
- Jack Dunscombe: British footballer who was part of the Blackburn Rovers team that won the 1912 Football League.
- Cecil Dunscombe: British sculptor of the mid-20th century. He was a member of the Royal Scottish Academy and is best known for his bronze and marble sculptures.
- Kimberly Dunscombe: British actress who starred in several television shows and movies such as The Bill and Monarch of the Glen.
- Robert Dunscombe: British actor and filmmaker who is best known for his roles in the films The Wings of the Dove and Love Actually.
- Richard Dunscombe: British composer and musician who was the violinist in the orchestra of the Royal Opera House for almost 10 years before joining the London Symphony Orchestra in 2003.
- Andrew Dunscombe: English rugby union player who represented England and won the Six Nations Championship in 1993.
- Garret Dunscombe: British footballer who made over 300 appearances for his club, Blackburn Rovers, between 1929 and 1937.
- Wesley Dunscombe: Australian cricketer who captained the Australia national cricket team from 1886 to 1888.