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This interesting surname is a patronymic form of Gomme, itself being of Anglo Saxon origin and is an example of many modern surnames that have been created from nicknames or bynames. The name derives from the Old English pre 7th Century "guma" meaning man, or the Middle English "gome" which was applied to someone employed as a servant or companion, a "righthand man". One, Simon Gumme, appears in the Bedfordshire Assize Rolls (1247) and Henry Le Gome is noted in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire (1275). The patronymic form is first recorded in the early half of the 14th Century, (see below). In the modern idiom the surname has many variant spellings including Gomes, Goomes, Gooms, etc.. Recordings of the variants from the London church registers include; Alice Goomes, who married John Willmer on July 24th 1595, at St. Botolph's; the marriage of Joseph Gomus to Mary Martin took place on November 12th 1736, at St. Dunstan's, Stepney; and on December 11th 1757, Frances, daughter of Richard and Mary Gomes, was christened at St. Lukes. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Nicholas Gumes, which was dated 1327, in the "Subsidy Rolls of Suffolk", during the reign of King Edward 11, known as "Edward of Caernafon", 1307 - 1327. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.
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