Champion
An occupational surname for a fighter, contest winner, or professional champion in medieval times.
The #2,058 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 17,615 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Champion comes through Old French champion, campion, from Late Latin campio, meaning a fighter or combatant, especially one who took part in a formal challenge or trial by combat. In medieval English, the word could also refer more broadly to a warrior or the winner of games and village contests. As a surname, it was first used for someone associated with that role or for a person metaphorically regarded as a champion.
History
The name is well attested in medieval England and appears in records in forms such as Le Champion and related spellings. Some families later linked the surname to the ceremonial office of King’s Champion, but that office is not the source of every bearer of the name. Variant forms such as Campion, Champness, and Champneys are historically related in some cases, though not always from the same exact line.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The surname is also connected with the famous ceremonial title of King’s Champion, an office once held by certain hereditary families at royal coronations.
From the historical record
“name was latinized ' De Campo Arnulphi.' CHAMPION. One that fights a public combat in his own or another man's quarrel. Cotgrave. The well-kuowfl office of King's Champion has been hereditary in the fami- lies of Marmion and DjTiioke for centuries. Le Champion, Le Champiun, &c. H.R. CHAilPNEYS. Fr. Chamjmgnois. A…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom