Holcomb
A surname from a place-name, originally meaning “hollow valley” or a settlement in a small valley.
The #1,227 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 10,701 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Holcomb is a habitational surname from a place named with Old English elements meaning “hollow” and “valley” or “deep-cut valley.” The first element is usually taken as hol, holh, or a related form meaning a hollow or depression, and the second as cumb, a word for a valley or deep, narrow dale. In other words, the name likely began as a label for someone who came from a place set in a hollow valley.
History
The historical excerpts show the name being treated as a local surname and as a spelling variant or corruption of related forms such as Hockham and Hooombe in some records, reflecting the instability of medieval spellings. In England and later in North America, Holcomb developed as a recognizable surname in several local families. The name is also found in place-linked family references in Devon and elsewhere in later genealogical writing.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The surname is one of several English names ending in -comb or -combe, a spelling that often points to an ancient valley or hollow in the landscape.
From the historical record
“Hooomba. — (i) Local, ' or Hockbam,' ■ parish in co. Norfolk. (9) Local A corruption of Holcomb, q.v. (DDioiniisI dc Hochun, Co. Noif,, 1349. Benediet d* Hocliam. vicar of”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances