This interesting surname of English origin is a locational name from a place called Dumbleton in Gloucestershire. The name was originally denoted as Dumbleton Hill, a very prominent hill, and is derived from the Welsh "moel" meaning "bare hill" plus "du", "black" plus "swn", "dark" plus "ta" meaning "toe". Dumbleton Hill juts out from Alderton Hill and on the map looks rather like a big toe. It may also be a topographical name for "a dweller at the farm by the pool" deriving from "ton" meaning "farm" plus "dympel" "pool". The surname dates back to the late 14th Century, (see below). Variations in the idiom of the spelling include Dumbleton, Duinbleton, Dumblton, etc.. Susan, daughter of Edmund Dumblton, was christened on January 2nd 1566, at Batsford in Gloucestershire. Abram Dumbleton married Elizabeth Williams at Allhallows, London Wall on June 27th 1653, and Abraham, son of Robert Dumbleton, was christened at St. John, Hackney, London, on September 27th 1679. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of de Dumbulle, which was dated 1377, in the "Gloucestershire Pipe Rolls", during the reign of King Edward 111, known as "The Father of the Navy", 1327 - 1377. 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.