This interesting surname of English origin with variant spellings Hambige, Hambidge, Hambridge, etc. is a locational name from places called Hambridge in Somerset, deriving from the Old English pre 7th Century "ham(m)" meaning "homestead", "enclosure" plus "brycg" "bridge", hence "ham(m) by the bridge". The surname dates back to the late 16th Century, (see below). London church recordings include one Thomas Hambige who married Elizabeth Wilkinson on October 25th 1713, at St. Dunstan's, Stepney. Thomas Hambidge married Mary Balldock on October 2nd 1740, at St. Bartholomew the less, and Elizabeth Hambridge married Samuel Housell on November 15th 1747, at St. George Mayfair, Westminster. Fanny, daughter of Thomas and Sarah Hambridge, was christened at St. Sepulchre on April 16th 1784. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Anthony Hambridge married Margaret Temple, which was dated 1583, London, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, "Good Queen Bess", 1558 - 1603. 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.