Show ContentsCumin History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

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 Cumin family

The surname Cumin 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 Cumin family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cumin 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 Cumin History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cumin 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 Cumin 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 Cumin Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ireland Migration of the Cumin family to Ireland

Some of the Cumin 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.


United States Cumin migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Cumin Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Michael Cumin, who landed in New York, NY in 1817 8
  • William Cumin, who arrived in New York, NY in 1817 8
  • Francis Cumin, aged 20, who landed in America in 1821 8
  • Joseph Cumin, aged 38, who arrived in America in 1822 8

West Indies Cumin migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 9
Cumin Settlers in West Indies in the 18th Century
  • Alexander Cumin, who landed in Jamaica in 1785 8

Contemporary Notables of the name Cumin (post 1700) +

  • Brigadier-General Jean Cumin (1882-1945), French Assistant Head of Intendance Service, 13th Military Region (1938) 10


  1. Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
  2. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  3. Burke, John Bernard, The Roll of Battle Abbey. London: Edward Churton, 26, Holles Street, 1848, Print.
  4. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  5. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  6. Rye, Walter, A History of Norfolk. London: Elliot Stock, 62, Paternoster Row, 1885. Print
  7. Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
  8. 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)
  9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
  10. Generals of World War II. (Retrieved 2011, October 3) Jean Cumin. Retrieved from http://generals.dk/general/Cumin/Jean-Jacques-Alexandre/France.html


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