The surname of ACOMBE was a locational name 'of Acomb' a parish near York. Local names usually denoted where a man held his land, and indicated where he actually lived. During the middle ages it was normal for a man and his family to be named after the village where they lived, or from the land that they owned. This name identified them, and followed them wherever they moved to. Early records of the name mention ACUM (without surname) who was listed as a tenant in the Domesday Book of 1086. ACOMBE (without surname) documented in County Lancashire in the year 1273. Willelmus de Acom, listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax of 1379. Later instances of the name include Henry Acum and Elizabeth Blackwell who were married at St. James's, Clerkenwell, London in the year 1670. Owen Scott and Mary Acombe were married at St. George's, Hanover Square, London in the year 1767. At first the coat of arms was a practical matter which served a function on the battlefield and in tournaments. With his helmet covering his face, and armour encasing the knight from head to foot, the only means of identification for his followers, was the insignia painted on his shield, and embroidered on his surcoat, the draped and flowing garment worn over the armour. The bulk of European surnames in countries such as England and France were formed in the 13th and 14th centuries. The process started earlier and continued in some places into the 19th century, but the norm is that in the 11th century people did not have surnames, whereas by the 15th century they did. The name is also spelt Acome. The lion is the noblest of all wild beasts which is made to be the emblem of strength and valour, and is on that account the most frequently borne in Coat-Armour. In the Middle Ages heraldry came into use as a practical matter. It originated in the devices used to distinguish the armoured warriors in tournament and war, and was also placed on seals as marks of identity. As far as records show, true heraldry began in the middle of the 12th century, and appeared almost simultaneously in several countries of Western Europe.