Show ContentsBattiscombe History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Battiscombe family

The surname Battiscombe was first found in Dorset at Batcombe, a parish, in the union of Cerne, hundred of Yetminster or at Batcombe, a parish, in the union of Shepton-Mallet, hundred of Whitestone, E. division of Somerset. 1

Of the two parishes the oldest seems to be in Somerset as this parish dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086 when it was recorded as Batecumbe. 2 Known as Batancumbae in the 10th century, it was derived from the Old English personal name + "cumb" and literally meant "valley of a man called Bata." 3

Somerset was the home of the first entry in ancient rolls, that of John Batecumbe in the Subsidy Rolls for 1327. 4

Early History of the Battiscombe family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Battiscombe research. Another 128 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1166, 1451, 1455, 1487, 1510, 1539, 1541 and 1600 are included under the topic Early Battiscombe History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Battiscombe Spelling Variations

The first dictionaries that appeared in the last few hundred years did much to standardize the English language. Before that time, spelling variations in names were a common occurrence. The language was changing, incorporating pieces of other languages, and the spelling of names changed with it. Battiscombe has been spelled many different ways, including Batscomb, Battiscombe, Batiscombe, Battiscomb, Batiscomb, Battiscumb, Battiscumbe, Batiscumbe, Batiscumb, Batscum, Batscumb, Bettiscomb, Betiscomb, Bettiscombe, Betscomb, Betscombe, Bettescombe and many more.

Early Notables of the Battiscombe family

Distinguished members of the family include

  • the Battiscombe family of Dorset

Migration of the Battiscombe family

Thousands of English families in this era began to emigrate the New World in search of land and freedom from religious and political persecution. Although the passage was expensive and the ships were dark, crowded, and unsafe, those who made the voyage safely were rewarded with opportunities unavailable to them in their homeland. Research into passenger and immigration lists has revealed some of the very first Battiscombes to arrive in North America: the name represented in many forms and recorded from the mid 17th century in the great migration from Europe. Migrants settled in the eastern seaboard from Newfoundland, to Maine, to Virginia, the Carolinas, and to the islands..


Contemporary Notables of the name Battiscombe (post 1700) +

  • Christopher Battiscombe (d. 1964), English Lieutenant-Colonel in the Grenadier Guards
  • Georgina Battiscombe (1905-2006), British biographer, specialising mainly in lives from the Victorian era
  • Battiscombe "Jack" George Gunn (1883-1950), English Egyptologist and philologist


  1. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  2. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  3. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  4. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)


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