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Camp History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Suggested Reading Citations

Camp History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Netherlands
England
Germany

Camp is a name that was carried to England in the great wave of migration from Normandy following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Camp family lived in Campe or Campes, Normandy, where the family lived prior to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. The derivation of this location is from the Old French word camp, which means field. 1

Early Origins of the Camp family

The surname Camp was first found in Warwickshire but looking back further, we found "Aluric Camp or Campa was a Domesday [Book] tenant in the eastern counties." 2 3

Robert Campe was listed in the Pipe Rolls for Warwickshire in 1195 and later, Tomas le Campe was listed in he Pipe Rolls for Hampshire in 1200. Down in Dorset, John Campe (Kempe) was listed there in the Pipe Rolls of 1205. 3

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 included: Felicia in Campo in Cambridgeshire; and William de Campo in Oxfordshire. Johannes de Kempe was found in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379. 4

"Camp is a name that has been for six centuries characteristic of this part of England. It was represented in the adjoining counties of Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire in the 13th century. In the county of Herts, Camp is an old Saudon name (Cus.). John Camp was thrice Mayor of Hertford in the middle of last century. There are also Camps in Derbyshire. The Derbyshire Camps are now established in the Derby district." 5

The Comper variant was first found in Somerset where Elyas Cumper was listed in the Curia Regis Rolls for 1224. Later, Walter Compere, le Compeyre was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Sussex in 1332. 3 The name is from "Camper or Champer. Perhaps from Champier, near Grenoble." 1

Early History of the Camp family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Camp research. Another 99 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1239, 1244 and 1296 are included under the topic Early Camp History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Camp Spelling Variations

Before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago, spelling variations of names were a common occurrence. Elements of Latin, Norman French and other languages became incorporated into English throughout the Middle Ages, and name spellings changed even among the literate. The variations of the surname Camp include Camp, Campe, Camper, Campor, Comper and others.

Early Notables of the Camp family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

Nicholas Camp of Greenlaw

Camp Ranking

In the United States, the name Camp is the 1,067^th most popular surname with an estimated 27,357 people with that name. 6

Camp migration to the United States +

In England at this time, the uncertainty of the political and religious environment of the time caused many families to board ships for distant British colonies in the hopes of finding land and opportunity, and escaping persecution. The voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, though, and many arrived in North America sick, starved, and destitute. Those who did make it, however, were greeted with greater opportunities and freedoms that they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Early immigration records have shown some of the first Camps to arrive on North American shores:

Camp Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Nicholas Camp who settled in New Haven in 1630
Nicholas Camp, who arrived in Salem, Massachusetts in 1630 7
William Camp, who landed in Maryland in 1657 7
William Camp, who landed in Virginia in 1663 7
Gilbert Camp, who landed in Maryland in 1668 7

Camp Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

John Camp, who landed in North Carolina in 1748 7
Daniel Camp, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1749 7
Icabod Camp, who arrived in New England in 1752 7
Michael Camp, who landed in South Carolina in 1752 7
Martin Camp, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1765 7
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Camp Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Ellen Camp, who arrived in New York, NY in 1845 7
Christian Camp, who arrived in Iroquois County, III in 1868 7
Daniel, James, John, Joseph, Thomas Camp, who arrived in Philadelphia between 1840 and 1875

Camp migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Camp Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Mr. Abiar Camp Jr., U.E. born in Connecticut, USA who settled in Saint John, New Brunswick c. 1783 8
Mr. Abiar Camp Sr., U.E. born in Connecticut, USA who settled in Saint John, New Brunswick c. 1783 8
Mr. Abiathar Camp Jr., U.E. (b. 1757) born in Wallingford, New Haven County, Connecticut, USA from New Haven, Connecticut, USA who settled in Parr Town [Saint John], New Brunswick c. 1783, Lots 25, Prince William Saint W. and 992 north side Queen Square member of the Navel Service, married to Mary Chidester they had 8 children he attended Yale College before withdrawing in 1775 he died in 1841 Waterborough, Queen's County, New Brunswick 8
Mr. Abiathar Camp Sr., U.E. who settled in Canada c. 1783 8
Mr. Eldad Camp U.E. born in Connecticut, USA who settled in Saint John, New Brunswick c. 1783 8
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Camp migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Camp Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. William Camp, (Camps), (b. 1779), aged 40, English farm labourer who was convicted in Essex, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Dromedary" on 11th September 1819, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 9
Mr. Samuel Camp, English convict who was convicted in London, England for life, transported aboard the "Chapman" on 6th April 1824, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 10
Mrs. Charlotte Camp who was convicted in Middlesex, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Burrell" on 31st December 1831, arriving in New South Wales 11
John Camp, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "David Malcolm" in 1847 12
Andrew Camp, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Princess Royal" in 1848 13
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Camp (post 1700) +

Joseph S. "Joe" Camp Jr. (1939-2024), American motion picture director and writer who is best known as the creator and director of the Benji films
Dean Fleischer Camp, American film director, film producer, screenwriter and film editor. He created the Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, which was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Editing at the 38th Independent Spirit Awards and Academy Award for Best Animated Feature at the 95th Academy Awards
Laurie Smith Camp (1953-2020), American jurist, United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska (2018-2020)
John N. Happy Camp, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Oklahoma, 1972 14
John Lafayette Camp (1828-1891), American lawyer and planter
Jeremy Thomas Camp (b. 1978), American three-time Music Award nominated and Grammy Award nominated Christian musician and songwriter
Helen Page Camp (1930-1991), American actress
Howard Lee "Howie" Camp (1893-1960), American Major League Baseball outfielder for the New York Yankees in 1917
Gregory Dean "Greg" Camp (b. 1967), American Grammy Award-nominated songwriter, guitarist and vocalist
Donald E. Camp (b. 1940), American artist, photographer, and professor of photography at Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pennsylvania
... (Another 86 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 16th July 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/dromedary
Convict Records of Australia. Retreived 26th January 2021 from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/chapman
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 5th November 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/burrell
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) DAVID MALCOLM 1847. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1847DavidMalcolm.htm
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) PRINCESS ROYAL 1848. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1848PrincessRoyal.htm
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 29) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html