Recorded in many spellings including Colmore, Collimore, Colleymore, Collymore, Culmer, Cullimore, and Cullimer, this is an English locational surname. It originates from the village of Colmore in the county of Dorset. This village is recorded in the famous register of 1086 known as the Domesday Book in the spelling of "Colemere". The translation is either the cool lake or possibly the clear lake, from the pre 7th century Olde English "col-mera". Locational surnames are by their nature, "from" names. This is to say that more often than not they were granted to people after they left their original homestead and moved elsewhere. It was in medieval times, the simplest form of identification to call "strangers" by the name of the place from whence they came. Because dialects were thick, and spelling poor, many names were transposed in their spelling leading to the variants which exist today. Early examples of the surname recording taken from authentic registers of the post medieval period include: Alexander Culmer, christened at the church of St Benet Fink, on July 12th 1588, and Anne Colmer, who married Symon Norris at the church of St Mary Somerset, both records being in the city of London, on October 29th 1593. The first known recording is believed to be that of Anne Collimer, at the church of All Hallows, London wall, on February 25th 1577. This was during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1st, known as "Good Queen BVess", 1558 - 1603.

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