Show ContentsColumbus History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

During that dark period of history known as the Middle Ages, the name of Columbus was first used in France. While the patronymic and metronymic surnames, which are derived from the name of the father and mother respectively, are the most common form of a hereditary surname in France, occupational surnames also emerged during the late Middle Ages. Many people, such as the Columbus family, adopted the name of their occupation as their surname. However, an occupational name did not become a hereditary surname until the office or type of employment became hereditary. The surname Columbus was an occupational name for a keeper of doves or pigeons having derived from the Old French word "colombe," which means dove.

Early Origins of the Columbus family

The surname Columbus was first found in Guyenne, where this distinguished family held a family seat since the 1100's.

By the early 1500's the family had branched into Quercy and Languedoc where Amanieu de Coulombe witnessed a document in 1506. His son founded the Jacobean convent in Bordeaux in 1530. Due to the family's impressive status in society, it formed many alliances with other noble families, such as in 1510, when the Colomb of Montregard of Puy family intermarried with the LaTour family and their descendants were known as De Colombe de LaTour, Viscounts of Goy. François de Colomb, Baron Latour, was the cousin of Hector, head of the Colombe de Montregard. Another branching of the Montregard family occurred when Jean de Colomb, Doctor of Law and Judge for the seneschal of Puy, and second son of François, became the Lord of Combres. His son, François, became a councillor to the King. Later generations of the family held titles of Baron de la Tour-Daniel, Beauzac, Lords of Mercuret, and Co-Lords of Saint-Haon. François de Colomb, Lieutenant of Viscount LeStrange, the Governor of Puy, was active in the defense of Puy against the Ligue and contributed greatly to the pacification of Velay for which he received special commendation from King Henri IV in 1594. In 1596 he became the King's Judge by proclamation and died in 1647 at the age of 100 years and 3 months. It should be noted that the average man died in his forties or fifties at this time. Jean de Colomb of the Forez branch of the family was registered in 1585. Descendants of all branches of the family served as councillors to the King and King's Court, as well as Presidents and First Council in Puy and their other domains.

Louis Coulombe, born in 1641, son of Jacques and Rolline, left France and travelled to Sainte-Famille-de-l'île-d'Orléans in Quebec, Canada, where he arrived on 30th September 1670. After arriving in Quebec he married Jeanne Foucault, daughter of Nicolas and Marguerite, at the end of 1670. [1]

Early History of the Columbus family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Columbus research. Another 232 words (17 lines of text) covering the years 1251, 1300, 1308, 1360, 1430, 1450, 1451, 1492, 1493, 1498, 1502, 1506, 1513, 1638, 1644, 1692, 1700 and 1717 are included under the topic Early Columbus History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Columbus Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Coulombe, Colombe, Coulomb, Colomb, Columbe, Columb, Coloumb, Coloumbe, Coulumb, Coulumbe, Coulon, Coulons, Coulont, Coullombe, Coullomb, Coullon, Coullons, Coullont, Coullomb, Collombe, Collon and many more.

Early Notables of the Columbus family

Notable amongst the name was

  • Michel Colombe (c. 1430-c. 1513), a French sculptor whose work bridged the late Gothic and Renaissance styles; Jean Colombe (c. 1430-1493), a French miniature painter and illuminator of manuscripts; C...

Columbus Ranking

In the United States, the name Columbus is the 10,939th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. [2]


United States Columbus migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Columbus Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Charles Columbus, who arrived in Baltimore, Maryland in 1816 [3]
  • Frederick Columbus, who arrived in Alabama in 1858 [3]

Contemporary Notables of the name Columbus (post 1700) +

  • Raymond John Patrick "Ray" Columbus OBE (1942-2016), New Zealand singer and songwriter, television host, music manager and entertainer, lead singer of Ray Columbus & the Invaders
  • Elvin Columbus McCary (1907-1981), American businessman and politician
  • Emerson Columbus Harrington (1864-1945), American Democratic Party politician, Dorchester County State's Attorney, 1899-1903; Maryland Insurance Commissioner, 1911; Governor of Maryland, 1916-20 [4]
  • Christopher Columbus Andrews (1829-1923), American politician, U.S. Minister to Sweden, 1869-77; U.S. Consul General in Rio de Janeiro, 1882-85; Minnesota Forestry Commissioner, 1895-1911 [5]
  • Carl Columbus Yowell (1902-1985), American Major League Baseball pitcher who played for two seasons in Major League Baseball for the Cleveland Indians (1924-1925)
  • Major General Christopher Columbus Augur (1821-1898), American military officer during the American Civil War
  • Edward Columbus Hosford (1883-1939), American architect from Eastman, Georgia, who designed many county courthouses
  • Willie Columbus Ponder (b. 1980), former professional American football player
  • Christopher Columbus Langdell (1826-1906), American teacher of law
  • Christopher Columbus Upson (1829-1902), American Democratic Party politician, Presidential Elector for Texas, 1876; U.S. Representative from Texas 6th District, 1879-83 [6]


  1. Olivier, Reginald L. Your Ancient Canadian Family Ties. Logan: The Everton Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 368, 1972. Print
  2. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  3. 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)
  4. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 2) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
  5. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, August 17) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
  6. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 17) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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