Kemper
A surname with two main roots: either from a fighter or champion, or from an occupation meaning wool-comber.
The #3,401 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 29,354 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is commonly explained in two ways. One line of explanation connects it with a Germanic word for a fighter or champion, related to words for combat or contest. Another derives it from an occupational term for a wool-comber, from the same word family that produced forms like kemb or kemp in older English and Low German usage.
History
Older surname dictionaries note both senses, and the name appears in English records by the 17th century. In German naming, especially in western regions, related forms such as Kämper and compounded names ending in -kemper are well attested. English usage may sometimes reflect migration from German or Dutch bearers as well as native occupational or nickname formation.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
One 19th-century surname scholar remarked that this is one of the rarer cases where the ending -son was attached to an occupational name in related forms like Kempson.
From the historical record
“not identical. KEMPER. 1. A combatant. See Kemp. 2. A wool-comber. KEMPSON. The son of a Kemp. See Kemp. This is one of the few surnames in Avhich " son " is affixed to names of occu- pation, profession, or digoity. Sraithson, Wrightson, Clarkson, and Dukeson are other examples. KEMSTER. A wool comber. See ter-…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom