Hempe History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland
Scotland

The name Hempe is of Anglo-Saxon origin and came from when the family lived in the village of Hampton in the dioceses of Worcester, Hereford, London, Exeter, and Lichford. 1 Another source notes "there are at least thirteen parishes of this name in England, representing the the Dioceses of Worcester, London, Hereford, Oxford, Exeter, and Lichfield." 2

The family may have originated in Normandy as the Magni Rotuli Scaccarii Normanniae lists: William de Hantona, Normandy, 1198 and William, Aelis, Gervase, Osbert, Walter de Hantona, Normandy, 1180-98. Alexander, Reiner, Roger, Simon de Hamton, England, 1198. 3

Early Origins of the Hempe family

The surname Hempe was first found in Staffordshire where they were recorded as a family of great antiquity seated at Wolverhampton with manor and estates in that shire. However, the name has three distinct origins: from the Old English word ham-tun as in "home farm, homestead"; from the Old English words hamm + tun, meaning "farmstead in an enclosure or river bend"; and finally from the Old English hean + tun meaning "high farmstead." 4

The earliest place name found was Hamtona in 716 which later became Hampton Lovett which is now a village and civil parish in the Wychavon district of the county of Worcestershire. The Domesday Book listed the following place names: Hamtune, Hantone, Hamntone Hantune, Hantone and Hantun. 4

The first record of the family was found in Oxfordshire where the Cartulary of Osney Abbey lists Philip de Hamtona in 1166. Later, Edith de Hampton was listed in the Assize Rolls for Worcestershire in 1221 and Richard Hampton was found in the Subsidy Rolls for Sussex in 1327. 5

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 had quite a few listings of the family: John de Hampton, Somerset; William de Hamptone, Huntingdonshire; Nicholas de Hampton, Wiltshire; Philip de Hampton, Cambridgeshire; and Geoffrey de Hampton, Lincolnshire. 2

But another source claims the name goes back to Saxon times. "Some Hamptons (e.g. in cos. Hereford and Somerset) occur in charters of the A.- Saxon period as Hamtún and Homtún; others (e.g. in cos. Gloucester and Warwick) as Heámtúne or Heántúne. Southampton occurs as Hamtún ('æt Hamtúne') in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, A.D. 837, which gives name to Hampshire. Some Hamptons (e.g. High Hampton, Devonshire, and Hampton-on-the-Hill, Warwickshire) indicate their etymology by later prefixes or suffixes." 6

In Scotland, the name is "from one of the many Hamptons in England. Bardsley says there are at least thirteen parishes of the name there Rogerus de Hamtone witnessed resignation of the lands of Edeluestun to the church of Glasgow, 1233." 7

The Hamptons, part of the East End of Long Island in New York are a group of villages and hamlets in the towns of Southampton and East Hampton that collectively date back to the late nineteenth century when the area changed from a farming to a popular destination for the wealthy.

Early History of the Hempe family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hempe research. Another 81 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1166, 1221, 1327, 1552, 1611, 1612, 1625 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Hempe History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hempe Spelling Variations

It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, early Anglo-Saxon surnames like Hempe are characterized by many spelling variations. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages, even literate people changed the spelling of their names. Scribes and monks in the Middle Ages spelled names they sounded, so it is common to find several variations that refer to a single person. The variations of the name Hempe include: Hampton, Hamptonne and others.

Early Notables of the Hempe family

Notables of this surname at this time include: Christopher Hampton (1552-1625), Archbishop of Armagh, called John in the printed Patent Rolls, was born at Calais in 1552, and was of English descent, educated at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. On the death of Brutus (or Brute) Babington, D.D., Bishop of Derry, he was nominated to that see (Cat. State Papers, Ireland, 1611-14, p. 181)...
Another 62 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Hempe Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Hempe family to Ireland

Some of the Hempe family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 50 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Hempe family

Many English families tired of political and religious strife left Britain for the new colonies in North America. Although the trip itself offered no relief - conditions on the ships were extremely cramped, and many travelers arrived diseased, starving, and destitute - these immigrants believed the opportunities that awaited them were worth the risks. Once in the colonies, many of the families did indeed prosper and, in turn, made significant contributions to the culture and economies of the growing colonies. An inquiry into the early roots of North American families has revealed a number of immigrants bearing the name Hempe or a variant listed above: Joanne Hampton who settled in Virginia in 1621; with her husband William; Anne Hampton settled in Barbados in 1697; John Hampton settled in Virginia in 1634. In Newfoundland, Robert Hampton was a grand juror of St. John's in 1811.

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
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)
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)