Recorded in the spellings of Goscomb and Goscombe, this is a very rare English surname. It is locational from the county of Gloucestershire, and it appears to have originated from a now 'lost' medieval village. Certainly there is no such place in any modern gazetter, and the early recordings offer no real clue as to its exact whereabouts. The place name and hence the later surname, are believed to translate as 'Goose valley' from the pre 7th century Olde English 'gos-cwm', although without a definate recording of the place itself, this has to be conjecture. 'Lost' medieval villages are a feature of British history and the countryside. It has been estimated that as many as five thousand surnames originate from such places, the surname itself often being the only public reminder of the former existence of the settlment. Early and perhaps the first examples of the surname recording are those of William Goscomb and his wife Mary, at the church of St Leonards, Upton on Severn, on July 27th 1721, when their son Joseph was christened. On November 16th 1760 what appears to be the same Joseph Goscomb, and his wife the fomer Jane Dowdeswell, witnessed the christening of their son Joseph at Harescourt, Gloucester.

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