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Updated June 9, 2019

Family name origins & meanings

  • Southern French : from Old Occitan colomb ‘dove’ (Latin columbus), hence a metonymic occupational name for a keeper of doves, or a nickname for a person of a mild and gentle disposition.
  • Southern French : from a personal name of the same origin. The name in its Latin forms Columbus and Columba was popular among early Christians because the dove was considered to be the symbol of the Holy Spirit.

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