The McComb surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 5,616 people carried this name — #6,106 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 52,600 people counted. That is up 1% from 5,577 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the McComb surname

A surname from Scottish Gaelic [in turn originating as a patronymic].

Anglicisation of a Scottish Gaelic patronymic surname derived from a Gaelic diminutive of Thomas.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «McComb» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 26 births for the McComb name in 1890.

Most were registered in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 1,200 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. 3 of them were indexed under other spellings of the name. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “Antrim, Down, and Londonderry.”

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born, 1890

Ulster 22
Leinster 4

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

44 families named McComb, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 252 people lived in those households, 5.7 to a family on average. The census counted these spellings together: McComb, McCombs, McCome, McCoom, McCoomb, McCoombe, McCooms, Macomb. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Pennsylvania 20
South Carolina 7
New York 5
North Carolina 5
Maryland 4
Connecticut 2
Massachusetts 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 252 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

McComb in American newspapers,
1909–1920.

Newspaper page from Hickory Daily Record carrying the name McComb
Hickory Daily Record 1916-12-29
Newspaper page from The Seattle Star carrying the name McComb
The Seattle Star 1909-05-27
Newspaper page from Hickory Daily Record carrying the name McComb
Hickory Daily Record 1920-06-25

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 100,564 pages in all carry the name.

In print

McComb in Australian newspapers,
1860s–1980s.

4,623 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss McComb. The most, 1,695, date from the 1930s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Victoria, at 3.3 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 2,553
Queensland 1,290
New South Wales 319
South Australia 149
Western Australia 116
Tasmania 102
ACT (Canberra) 77
Northern Territory 8

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss McComb.

Who carried it

People named McComb,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Eleazer McComb
    Eleazer McComb 1740–1798 · politician
  • William McComb
    William McComb 1828–1918 · military leader
  • John McComb Jr. 1763–1853 · architect
  • David McComb 1962–1999 · musician
  • Marshall F. McComb 1894–1981 · judge

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0.

In the public record

People named McComb,
in the records of 5 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States861 records

861 records of the McComb name in the United States
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 222
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 190
  • Other U.S. records 449
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Earl G. McComb

    Born 1921 in Ohio. Enlisted 1942 at Toledo; farm hand from Lucas County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 2001, buried at Fort Custer National Cemetery, Michigan.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Auburn Dale McComb

    Born 1935; from Gainesville, Florida. U.S. Navy, hospital corpsman; killed in action 1967 in Quang Nam, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Grisella McComb

    Arrived at New York in 1852 aboard the Isaac Webb from Liverpool, aged 26; servant. From Scotland.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 861 records for McComb in the United States.

Counts: NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia183 records

183 records of the McComb name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 69
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 54
  • Other Australian records 60
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Arthur McComb

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Lord Petre, sailing from London in 1843. Native of Glasgow, Lanarkshire.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Elizth McComb

    Arrived in Victoria in 1857 aboard the Adriatic, aged 24; Irish.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record James R. McComb

    Former farmer of Watchem, Victoria; died 1922.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 183 records for McComb in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Canada38 records

38 records of the McComb name in Canada
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 10
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 8
  • Other Canadian records 20
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record David McComb

    Came to Ontario in 1870 aboard the Prussian, landing at Portland, bound for Berlin, Ontario; English.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Ethel Elizabeth McComb

    Buried in 1989 at Union Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 92.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Veronica McComb

    Died 1974 in Sydney, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, aged 40.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Showing 3 of 38 records for McComb in Canada.

Counts: City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

United Kingdom5 records

5 records of the McComb name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 2
  • Stirling Council burial records 2
  • Scottish rolls of honour, First World War 1
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record Thomas McComb

    Served in the First World War. Named in the Glasgow High School roll of honour, 1914.

    National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain)
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record J. McComb

    Royal Scots. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record A. McComb

    Lancashire Fusiliers. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1919.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 3 of 5 records for McComb in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

New Zealand1 record

1 record of the McComb name in New Zealand Christchurch City cemetery records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record William McComb

    Died 1899, aged 34; buried at Sydenham Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to McComb.

When the index is not enough

This page says where McComb is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

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