Camp
A surname that usually began as a topographic name for someone who lived or worked near a camp, field, or enclosed military site.
The #1,189 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 10,377 Americans shares it.
Etymology
In medieval English records, Camp was used as a local or topographic byname for someone “at the camp” or “in the field.” The underlying word goes back to Latin castra, meaning a military camp, passed into Old English and Middle English through forms like camp and related place-names. In some cases it may also reflect an old nickname or status term rather than a strict place-name.
History
The surname is recorded in medieval England, with examples such as William de Campo and Felicia in Campo. Lower also notes an early bearer, Aluric Camp or Campa, in Domesday-era records, and suggests a possible connection with Kemp, though that remains uncertain. The name later spread in Britain and to North America, where it remains relatively uncommon.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same Latin root that lies behind Camp also helped form English place-names like Chester and many military-related terms.
From the historical record
“mandy. CAMP. Aluric Camp or Campa Avas a Domesd. tenant in the eastern counties. Kelham supposes that he was a champion ; but he had held under Edward the Confessor, and, as Ellis observes, the offtce of cham- pion does not occur so early. It is doubt- less connected with Kemp, which see. In Selkirkshire, camj)…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom