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Coman History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Coman History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland
Ireland

It is generally believed that this name comes from a Breton personal name, derived from element "cam," meaning "bent," or "crooked;" or perhaps from the herb called "cummin" (cumin). Or the name may have come from the place name Comines, in Flanders, Northern France. 1

"This ancient family claim descent from the great house of Comines in France. They seem to have come into Britain at the Conquest, though they do not appear eo nomine in Domesday. " 2

Early Origins of the Coman family

The surname Coman was first found in Norfolk, Lincolnshire, and Yorkshire in England, in the 12th and 13th centuries. Robert of Comyn (Comines,) a noble who accompanied William the Conqueror in 1066 and was made Earl of Northumberland. 3

Other early records of the family shown with a myriad of early spellings include: Godwinus filius Cumine in the Pipe Rolls of Norfolk in 1173; Eustachius filius Cumini in the Assize Rolls for Lincolnshire in 1219; Petrus filius Kymine in the Subsidy Rolls for Yorkshire in 1301; Hugh Coumini listed in France in 1157; Walter Cumin in the Pipe Rolls for Wales in 1158; John Comin in Lincolnshire in 1175-1179; and William Cumyn in the Pipe Rolls for Hampshire in 1230. 4

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 included: Florentina Comin, Oxfordshire; Peter Comyn, Wiltshire; Stephen Comyng, Essex; and Thomas Comyn, Gloucestershire. 5 Another source notes that Admund le Comyn was listed in Norfolk, 14 Edward II (during the fourteenth year of King Edward III's reign.) 6

Today Commins is a small hamlet in Denbighshire and Commins Coch is a small village in the county of Powys, Wales.

Saint Comman of Ross-Commain (fl. 550), was son of Faelchu and "descendant of Fiacha Araidhe, of the family of Rudhraighe, and race of Ir, king of Ulster, A.D. 236." 7

Early History of the Coman family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Coman research. Another 487 words (35 lines of text) covering the years 1124, 1133, 1153, 1289, 1296, 1302, 1306, 1667, 1688, 1690, 1696, 1714, 1729, 1730, 1740, 1747, 1751, 1775, 1833, 1835, 1844, 1849, 1851, 1867, 1870, 1875, 1876 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Coman History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Coman Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Cumin, Cumins, Cumine, Cummin, Cummins, Cummine, Comings, Comins, Commin and many more.

Early Notables of the Coman family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Alexander Comyn (d. 1289), Earl of Buchan, a Scotish-Norman nobleman, son of William Comyn and Marjory, Countess of Buchan, the heiress of the last native Scottish Mormaer of Buchan, Fergus...
Another 37 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Coman Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Coman family to Ireland

Some of the Coman family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 60 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Coman migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Coman Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

John Coman, who landed in Maryland in 1671 8

Coman Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Cara A. Coman, aged 32, who landed in America from Marlborough, in 1892
N. Coman, aged 38, who immigrated to the United States, in 1896
Wozeick Coman, aged 26, who immigrated to the United States from London, in 1897
John Coman, aged 33, who landed in America from Thurles Co. Tipperary, in 1897

Coman Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

George F. Coman, aged 43, who landed in America from London, in 1904
Frank H. Coman, aged 45, who settled in America, in 1905
John Coman, aged 35, who settled in America from County Tipperary, Ireland, in 1907
Elizabeth Coman, aged 28, who landed in America, in 1908
Ellen Coman, aged 22, who immigrated to the United States from County Tipperary, Ireland, in 1909
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Coman migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Coman Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

John Coman, aged 43, a farm labourer, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Assaye" in 1874 9
Harriett Coman, aged 43, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Assaye" in 1874 9
John Coman, aged 9, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Assaye" in 1874 9

Contemporary Notables of the name Coman (post 1700) +

Robert Grimes Coman (1887-1963), Commodore in the United States Navy, recipient of the Legion of Merit
Carolyn Coman (b. 1951), American writer of children's books from South Hampton, New Hampshire
Thomas Coman (1836-1909), American President of the New York City Board of Aldermen from 1868 to 1871
Katharine Coman (1857-1915), American social activist and economist
Mike Coman (b. 1987), New Zealand Rugby Union player
Peter George Coman (b. 1943), former New Zealand cricketer
Gilly Coman (1955-2010), British actress

Citations +

Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Burke, John Bernard, The Roll of Battle Abbey. London: Edward Churton, 26, Holles Street, 1848, Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Rye, Walter, A History of Norfolk. London: Elliot Stock, 62, Paternoster Row, 1885. Print
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html