In 1866, and at the age of 27, George William Marshall published “Collections for a Genealogical Account of the Family of Comberbach”. Marshall’s mother had the maiden name Comberbach. Really detailed site of family history trees and genealogy of Benedict´s surname.
Bob Cumberbatch has been researching his family history for more than 11 years now. He also volunteer to help others with their research. Each year he volunteer to attend the annual “Who Do You Think You Are? Live!” show.
“When I started, I just assumed I couldn’t be called Benedict Cumberbatch,” says the 30-year-old actor in a pub near the play’s rehearsal rooms. His father, an actor, had been persuaded by an agent to become Timothy Carlton, and so the son initially carried on the family stage name. “But then, one day, I told someone in the business what I was really called and they said, ‘That’s great, that’s something you can use to stand out.’” Because acquaintances, interviewers and immigration officers tend to ask about it, the artist formerly known as Ben Carlton wishes that he had done more research into the derivation of Cumberbatch. He knows only that the clan was originally German and later became prominent in the Caribbean, where they were slave traders. - [Mark Lawson The Guardian, Tuesday 29 April 2008].
The surname is based on a place called Comberbach in Cheshire, England. When Comberbach, the place, was first named it was named using the Old English language which does have many similarities to Old German. For instance, the compound BACH of the original spelling is Old English and pronouced ‘batch’ and in Old German is pronounced ‘bark’ meaning stream. The etymology of these words have similar origins but the surname originates from the village of Comberbach, Cheshire, England. - [from Bob´s website]
