The ancestors of the bearers of the Hanscomb family name are thought have lived in ancient Anglo-Saxon England. They were first found in the village of Hanscombe, in the county of Bedfordshire. The village name comes from an Old English personal name Han, and the Old English word camp, meaning "enclosed land."
The surname Hanscomb was first found in Bedfordshire (Old English: Bedanfordscir), located in Southeast-central England, formerly part of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia, where they held a family seat from very early times.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hanscomb research. Another 53 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1255 and 1634 are included under the topic Early Hanscomb History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Until quite recently, the English language has lacked a definite system of spelling rules. Consequently, Anglo-Saxon surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. Changes in Anglo-Saxon names were influenced by the evolution of the English language, as it incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other languages. Although Medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, so it is common to find one person referred to by several different spellings of his surname, even the most literate people varied the spelling of their own names. Variations of the name Hanscomb include Handscomb, Hanscomb, Hanscombe, Handscombe, Handcome, Hanscom, Handscom, Hanscome and many more.
More information is included under the topic Early Hanscomb Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Searching for a better life, many English families migrated to British colonies. Unfortunately, the majority of them traveled under extremely harsh conditions: overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the ocean. For those families that arrived safely, modest prosperity was attainable, and many went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the new colonies. Research into the origins of individual families in North America revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Hanscomb or a variant listed above: