Kempton
An English place-based surname most likely meaning “from Kempston” or another camp-town settlement.
The #9,397 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 89,233 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Kempton is generally treated as a locational surname. One common explanation connects it with Kempston in Bedfordshire or another similar place-name, built from elements meaning “camp” or “enclosure” plus “town” or “settlement.” Another older interpretation takes it more literally as “the camp town,” i.e. “place of the army.” The surname could also have been influenced by other nearby place-names, so the exact source may vary by family line.
History
The name appears in English records by the late 1500s and is found in London and other parts of England. Nineteenth-century surname writers linked it mainly to English place-names, especially Kempston, though some also suggested related local forms such as Kimpton or Kemberton. It is much less common than many other English locational surnames, but it has survived into modern use in Britain and the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname books sometimes glossed Kempton very simply as “the camp town,” which neatly captures its likely place-name sense.
From the historical record
“Cornwall. KEMPTON. Perhaps Kempston, parishes in Norfolk and Bedfordshire. KEMYSS. See Kemeys. KENCLARKE. See Clarke. KENDALL. Kent-dale, the valley of the Kent, a river of Westmoreland. The true name of the town known as Kendal is Kirkby -in- Kendale.”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom