Origin
Combe : 1: Scottish (Midlothian and East Lothian): from Gaelic Mac Thom ‘son of Thom’ see Thomas. It is also a shortened form of McCombe.2: English: variant of Coombe.3: French: topographic name for someone living in or near a ravine from combe ‘narrow valley ravine’ (from Latin cumba a word of Gaulish origin); or a habitational name from Combe the name of several places in the southern part of France of the same etymology. Compare Lacombe.
Acomb : English (northern):: 1: topographic name for a dweller in a valley from Middle English atte combe ‘at the valley’ (Old English æt thǣm cumbe).2: habitational name from any of the places in Northumberland and West and North Yorkshire named Acomb from Old English æt ācum ‘at the oak trees’.
Buzzacott : 1: from Buzzacott in Combe Martin (Devon) recorded as Bursecot in 1399 and Bussacott in 1667. The place-name may contain the Old English male given name Beorhtsige ‘bright’ + ‘victory’ and cot(e) ‘cottage’. 2: possibly in some cases an anglicized form of French Boursicot from a diminutive of French bourse ‘purse’.
Combes : 1: English: variant of Coombs.2: French (also Combès): topographic name from combe ‘narrow valley ravine’ (see Combe) or a habitational name from any of various places in southern France for example in Hérault named Combes.
Comeau : French:: 1: topographic name from a diminutive of come a variant of combe ‘narrow valley ravine’ (see Combe).2: alternatively perhaps a derivative of the personal name Come/Côme from the Greek name Kosmas (see Cosma). Compare Comeaux Commo and Como.
Coombe : English (Devon and Cornwall):: 1: topographic name from Middle English combe (Old English cumb of Celtic origin) denoting a bowl-shaped valley or else a habitational name from a place so named. A large number of places in southwestern England mostly spelled Combe are named with this word.2: nickname from Middle English come (Old English cuma) ‘guest stranger newcomer’. Compare Coombs.
Crook : English:: 1: topographic name from Old Norse krókr ‘nook or bend’ denoting someone who lived by a bend in a river or road. In some instances the surname may have arisen as a habitational name from any of the places called Crook in Cumberland and Durham or Crooke in Lancashire all of which are derived from this word.2: topographic name for someone who lived ‘(at the) barrow or mound’ from Brittonic crüg. In some instances this may have arisen as a habitational name from either Crook in Combe Raleigh or perhaps Crooke in North Tawton (both Devon) which are derived from this word.3: from the Middle English personal name Crok (Old Norse Krókr ‘hook barb’) which may have been introduced into England from Denmark or from Normandy. The name may also derive from Middle English crok ‘hook; something crooked’ also ‘trick or ruse’ (from Old Norse krókr as in the name above). The name was perhaps originally bestowed on a cripple or hunchback but in early medieval England this was used as a personal name.4: in Ireland (Fermanagh) Crook(e) mainly reflects post-medieval settlement of English families but it is unclear which of the name's several origins (see 1-3 above) are involved.
Henney : 1: English: in eastern England a habitational name from Henny in Soham (Cambridgeshire) Great and Little Henny (Essex) or (less likely) Henney a lost place in Cambridge (Cambridgeshire) all from Old English hēah (dative hēan) ‘high’ + ēg ‘island land partly surrounded by water’. In addition Henney may also be a variant of Hanney a habitational name from Hanny Combe (Somerset) or from East and West Hanney (Berkshire) named with Old English hana ‘cock male bird’ + ēg. Some names have early spellings alternating between -en- and -an- which account for Henney and Hanney as variant surname forms. The early occurrence of the surname in Staffordshire where it is largely concentrated in modern times implies migration of the Cambridgeshire or Essex name westward unless there is another but unidentified source for it in Staffordshire or a nearby county.2: English and Scottish: variant of Hannah.3: English: variant of Hanney.4: Irish: variant of Heaney from Ó hÉanna.5: German: rare variant Henny or an Americanized form of its cognate Hennig.
Netherton : English (Cornwall and Devon): habitational name from one or more of the many minor places called Netherton in Devon (the placename occurs in the parishes of Berry Pomeroy Buckland Monachorum Combe Martin Farway Haccombe Hartland Sherford and Staverton) or from one or more of the other places in England called Netherton found in Worcestershire Northumberland Lancashire and Yorkshire. All of these placenames derive from Middle English nether ‘lower’ + toun ‘settlement’ (Old English neothera tūn).
Nutcombe : from one or more of the places so named in Devon such as Nutcombe in Combe Martin which is recorded as Notecombe in 1473 Nutcombe in East Allington recorded as Nottecombe in 1430 Nutcombe in Rose Ash recorded as Nuttecumb in 1238 and Nutcombe in Clayhanger recorded as Notcomb in 1334. The place-names all derive from Old English hnutu ‘nut nut-tree’ + cumb ‘valley’.
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Source : DAFN2 : Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, ©2022 by Patrick Hanks and Oxford University Press
FANBI : The Oxford Dictionary if Family Names in Britain and Ireland, ©2016, University of the West of England
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