This ancient pre 8th Century Anglo-Saxon personal compound "Cyne-beald" shortened in the medieval period to "Kim" as the origin of this interesting name. The surname is more usually found as Kimballe, Kemble, Kimmel or Kimbell, however, the shortened variant development includes the following recordings Bridget Kyme who married Henry Minterne at Sunbury on Thames in 1623 (day unknown), Edward Kem, son of Henry Kem, christened at Christchurch, Greyfriars on February 4th 1677, Henry Kime, a witness at St. Dunstans, Stepney on June 28th 1669, whilst in 1693 Margaritt Kime of Timberland, Lincolnshire was christened on October 16th of that year. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Richard Cembel, which was dated 1185, in the "Pipe Rolls of Huntingdonshire", during the reign of King Henry 11, known as "The Builder of Churches", 1154 - 1189. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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