McCombs Coat of Arms, Family Crest and McCombs Family History

McCombs Family History

The ancient origin of the name McCombs was found in the irishsurnames.com archives.

Surnames developed a wide number of variants over the centuries. Many different spelling variations of the same name can be traced back to a single original root. Also, when a bearer of a name emigrated from Ireland it was not uncommon that their original name would be incorrectly transcribed in the record books upon arrival at their new location. Some names have dozens of spelling variations. Some Surnames were also altered over the years based on how they sounded phonetically, by their sound, and depending on the prevailing political conditions it may have been advantageous to change a name from one language to another. This was especially so in Ireland where most Gaelic names were 'anglicized' at some stage.

Variants of the name McCombs include McCombe, McColm, McCome, McKomb, McComie and McCombie. This Scottish surname is a branch of clan MacKintosh.

A sept or clan is a collective term describing a group of persons whose immediate ancestors bore a common surname and inhabited the same territory. It is also the case that many Irish septs or clans that are related often belong to a larger groups, sometimes called tribes. For example the 'Tribes of Galway' consisted of fourteen distinct families. The 'Tribes of Kilkenny' were ten families, etc.

Meaning 'son of Tom', an early record of this name is that of a Gilchrist Makcome who was a follower of the Earl of Cassilis in the year 1526. Another early record relates to a Robert McKome who was charged with being a disorderly person in the Parish of Carsfern, in the year 1684. A branch of the family moved to Ireland where their territory was in Ulster Province. In the Hearth Money Rolls of County Armagh the name is recorded as MacCom and MacCome. McComie and McCombie are also variants of this name in Ireland.The McCombs family crest (or coat of arms) came into existence many centuries ago. The process of creating these coats of arms began as early as the eleventh century although a form of Proto-Heraldry may have existed in some countries prior to this, including Ireland. The new more formalized art of Heraldry made it possible for families and even individual family members to have their very own family crest, coat of arms, including McCombs descendants.