This rare name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and is a nickname surname for a quiet shy person, derived from the Old English pre 7th Century "dumb", with the Middle English development "domm(e)", mute or speechless. Many medieval nicknames have disappeared, although a large proportion of present day surnames come from the habitual usage of nicknames in the past. Some are simple and obvious, descriptive of appearance or disposition, while others put emphasis on mental and moral characteristics, or even occupations. The following example illustrates the name development after 1297 (see below): Robert le Doumbe (1309, Subsidy Rolls in Bedfordshire), Agnes Doome married Richard Retallack on November 22nd 1608 at St. Columb Major, and Dorckers Domme was christened in St. Erth on April 16th 1666, both in Cornwall. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Thomas Domme, which was dated 1297, in the "Ministers Accounts of the Earldom of Cornwall", during the reign of King Edward 1, known as "The Hammer of the Scots", 1272 - 1307. 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.