Background
“de Sancta Columba” as surname
There are several variants of the surname “de Santa Coloma” (de Sancta Columba, in Latin), including:
* Santa Coloma (Argentina, Cuba, Spain)
* de Santa Coloma (Argentina, Spain, France)
* Santacoloma (Colombia, USA),
* Santa Colomba (Italy, Portugal),
* Santacolomba (Italy, USA),
* Columbus (one Columbus family is derived from thelast name Santa Colomba of Italy, in USA),
* Sainte Colombe, de Sainte Colombe (France),
* Sancta Columba (Portugal)
* de Sancta Columba (antique form in Catalonia, England and France).
The name is probably in use in other countries of Latin-America,including Chile, Ecuador and México. We hope that others with knowledge of thefamily name in other countries will add to this article.
Meaning
As a surname"de Santa Coloma" and its variants are thought to be derived from a town named before Saint Columba.Whether the last name refers to Saint Columba of Sens or to Saint Columba of Cordoba has not been determined yet.
The word "Columba" may be translated as "a white pigeon", the symbolof peace, and is probably the root source of Saint Columba's name, and hence of the surname. In this regard, it is worth noting that some branches of the SantaColoma family incorporate a pigeon bearing an olive branch as a component oftheir coat of arms. A white pigeon is used as a symbol of the veneration of the HolySpirit.
It is thought that the name arose as a toponymic to indicate a family that came from a town bearing the name "Sancta Columba". The actual town of origin is yet a controversial matter and to determine its location is one of the goals of this FTDNA project.
Place of Origin
The surname "de Santa Coloma" and its variants may have arisen from a common ancestor or, alternatively, independently originated in several towns of southern France, northern Spain or England (the old Gascony reagions),bearing the name of "Sancta Columba" (Santa Coloma in Latin is Sanctæ Columbæ). Scotland is also a possibility. There are about 30 such towns in France, and at least ten in Spain, all named after Sancta Columba, Sainte Colombe, Santa Colomba and similar names. Most genealogists, however, believe the name has a single point of origin, and that most, if not all persons bearing the Santa Coloma last name arose from a single ancestor, originated from one of the towns named "Santa Coloma". Where that town lay is a question of considerable interest.
There are several possibilities that are being considered for the origination point of the Santa Coloma surname:
* Basque Country (de Santa Coloma),
* Catalonia (de Santa Coloma),
* France (de Sainte Colombe, de Sancta Columba),
* Italy (di Santa Colomba, di Santa Colomba, Santa Colomba, Santacolomba),
* UK (de Sancta Columba)
While there are some reasons to believe that the surname might be originated in either Italy or England, both locations are considered to be less unlikely. There are two surname variants in use in Italy, Santa Colomba (which line traces back to Gaspare di Santa Colomba, also named Gaspar de Santa Coloma, originaly from Barcelona) and Santacolomba (which line traces back to Arnaldo di Santacolomba or Arnaldo de Santa Coloma or Arnau de Santa Coloma). Both Gaspar and Arnaldo are connected to families living in Catalonia prior to their immigration to Italy, making it unlikely that the surname originated in Italy.
With regard to England as a point of origin for the surname, this is also considered so far unlikely, but the true is that we do not have enough information yet. The earliest use of the name in England is found in the 12th Centuryobit book of Hereford Cathedral in England. This documentincludes records for one "Ralph de Sancta Columba" and other members of the Sancta Columba family: Odo, Hugh, Osbert and another Ralph. Another very interesting record recently found was the one related to Thomas de Sancta Columba, ordered priest in April 26 of 1261, in Launceston, England. It seems likely that this family came to England during or after the Norman Conquest,started at the year 1066, which would indicate a French continental origin (Bordeaux area). In the UK, the towns named after the St. Columba were apparently originated in the 13th Century, later than the last name. However, these data requires more research.
§ Collombe – see St Columb Major (*CRO, P170/12/12/1,1691); Sancta Columba, c.1240; Saint Colombe the Over, c.1547; St Columbe,1586; St Cullombe the higher, 1643; St Columb, 1645; Collombe, 1691; Saint Collombe Le higher, 1694; St Columb the higher, 1738; St Columb Major, 1789; StColumb, 1838; St Columb Major, 1884, 1988.
§ Collombe Le higher, Saint – see St Columb Major(*CRO, GRA/225/4, 1694); Sancta Columba, c.1240; Saint Colombe the Over,c.1547; St Columbe, 1586; St Cullombe the higher, 1643; St Columb, 1645;Collombe, 1691; Saint Collombe Le higher, 1694; St Columb the higher, 1738; StColumb Major, 1789; St Columb, 1838; St Columb Major, 1884, 1988.
§ Collombe Le Lower, Saint – see St Columb Minor(*CRO, GRA/225/4, 1694); Sancta Columba Minor, 1284; Colombe the nether, 1549;Sent Columb minoris, 1558; St Colomb the neither, 1577; St Columb loer,c.1590s; Saint Collombe Le Lower, 1694; St Columb the lower, 1738; Lower St Columb, 1770, 1832; St Columb Minor, 1832; Saint Columb Minor, 1842; St ColumbMinor, 1884, 1988.
Therefore, the earliest registry for these towns was Sancta Columba in 1240 and Sancta Columba Minor, in 1284. These are similar dates compared to the registry for Thomas de Sancta Columba, in 1261. Thus, Thomas de Sancta Columba (by the way, this is also my name in Latin) was born before these towns. Therefore, the last name does not seem to be originated in England. It should probably be of a Gascon origin.
Whether or not that ancient "de Sancta Columba" family had descendants in the UK is unknown. It is also unknown if the last name was changed in the UK with the pass of the centuries to some other form (i.e. Pigeon, Columbus, St. Columba, McCollum, McColam, etc.) or just disappeared. Interestingly, there is a record regarding a “Vivian de Seynt Colam” in 1405, suggesting that the McColam could be derived from this last name. The lack of records for the McColam before 1405 also suggests that this is a possibility. Comparison of Y-DNA markers should help to disregard or confirm this hypothesis.
Simply given the frequency of occurrence of towns named after Saint Colomba, it would seem likely that the family name arose in France, and then spread to other countries. In this regard, it is perhaps noteworthy that many of the towns named after Saint Columba lie along the medieval pilgrimage route known as The Way of St. James.This route stretches from southern France, through the Basque County, and into Santiago de Copostela in Galicia,in north-western Spain. Along the way it passes through the town of Najera in Basque Country, where part of the relics of Saint Columba are venerated. Interestingly, the monastery of Najera in the Basque Country, Spain, was named after Santa Coloma of Sens (France) and not Santa Coloma of Cordova (Spain).
Some genealogists believe that the families using this surname all have a common catalan origin. Some support for this can be obtained by examining differences and similarities in the coat of arms borne by different family lines. For example, the Coat of Arms of Gaspar de Santa Coloma, from Arceniega, suggests that his family arose in Catalonia and migrated to the Basque country during the "Reconquista". This is supported by the following:
§ The coat of arms of Santa Caloma of Catalonia show either a silver pigeon, (as Francesc de SantaColoma), or three pigeons, (as the Marquess Gaspar de Santa Coloma).
§ The Santa Coloma from the Valley of Mena (Arceniega, Basque Country), are distinguished by a coat of arms containing a solitary encina tree (an evergreen white oak, also known as the holly oak, the Holm Oak, or more properly Quercus ilex) and two wild boars.
§ The Santa Caloma from the Biscayne display a coat of arms bearing a solitary (see oak tree) and a solitary bear (see Arms for details).
§ The Coat of Arms of Gaspar de Santa Coloma(ES), born in Arceniega (ES) in the 18thCentury, combines both the Catalan and Biscayne components. This COA shows three pigeons on the "dexter" (the right side of a shield to the bearer or the left side to an observer), while a bear and a oak tree appear onthe "sinister" (the left side). Thus the Dexter side of the COA includes the emblems characteristic of the Santa Caloma from Catalonia, while the sinister side shows the emblems characteristic of the Biscayne branch.
Significantly, despite the fact that Gaspar was born in Arceniega, his coat of arms does not show any of the components borne by the Santa Caloma from theValley of Mena, Arceniega, Basque Country. This is taken to indicate that Gaspar's family probably originated in the Catalan (the three pigeons) and Biscayne regions (the bear and the oak tree), before finally settling in Arceniega. It is not clear why he retained the Catalan/Biscayne elements, while other Santa Caloma in the Valley of Mena adopted the holly oak and two wildboar components.
For further details, please refer to the page Santa Coloma, in Familypedia,
http://familypedia.wikia.com/wiki/Santa_Coloma_(surname)
There is a version in Spanish at that site.
Also see (and join) the Facebook sites de Sancta Columba (mostly in English) and Los Santa Coloma (mostly in Spanish) at
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=122372131121466
and
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=328411895787