Camping History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland
Scotland

Camping is one of the thousands of new names that the Norman Conquest brought to England in 1066. It is a name for a professional champion. In the Middle Ages a common manner of settling disputes was through trial by combat. Thus, proficient fighters would sell their services to represent parties involved in such cases by fighting on their behalf. The word derives from the Anglo Norman French word, campion, of the same meaning. 1

We found this interesting passage that explores the "champion" aspect in more detail: "In the ordeal by battle, in criminal cases, the accuser and the accused took the field themselves, but in disputes about the ownership of land, the actual parties to the suit were represented by 'champions', in theory their free tenants, but in practice, hired men, professional champions, and very well paid. In 1294 the Dean and Chapter of Southwell incurred a prospective liability of about £750 in modern money in hiring a champion to fight a duel to settle a law-suit about the advowson of a church. A pugil or champion was a regular member of the household of more than one medieval bishop, Thomas Cantilupe, Bishop of Hereford (1275-1282), paying his champion, Thomas de Bruges, a salary of half a mark a year." 2

Early Origins of the Camping family

The surname Camping was first found in Hampshire where Herbert Campion was listed at Winton in 1148. A few years later, Geoffrey Champiun was found in Northumberland 1154-1169 and later again, Roger le Campion was found in the Pipe Rolls for Oxfordshire in 1197. In Suffolk, William le Champion was recorded in the Curia Regis Rolls for 1220. 2

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 include Beatrix le Campiun, Cambridgeshire; John Campiown, Huntingdonshire; and Walter le Campion, Buckinghamshire were listed as holding lands at that time. A few years later, the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 listed Simon Campion and Ricardus Campion. 3

Further to the north in Scotland, Nicholas Champion of Berwick rendered homage to King Edward I in 1291, and again as Nicol Campyon of Berwickshire in 1296. 4

Early History of the Camping family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Camping research. Another 84 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1250, 1291, 1296, 1540, 1569, 1578, 1581, 1590, 1595, 1599, 1602, 1607, 1608, 1610, 1613, 1619, 1624, 1640, 1659, 1665, 1689, 1698, 1701 and 1702 are included under the topic Early Camping History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Camping Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. When the Normans became the ruling people of England in the 11th century, they introduced a new language into a society where the main languages of Old and later Middle English had no definite spelling rules. These languages were more often spoken than written, so they blended freely with one another. Contributing to this mixing of tongues was the fact that medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, ensuring that a person's name would appear differently in nearly every document in which it was recorded. The name has been spelled Campion, Champion and others.

Early Notables of the Camping family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Edmund Campion (1540-1581), English Jesuit, son of a citizen and bookseller of London. During his illustrious career, he mingled with royalty many times but is most famous for his book The History of Ireland." 5William Campion alias Wigmore (1599-1665), was another Jesuit, "a native of Herefordshire, entered the Society of Jesus at Watten, near St. Omer, in 1624, and became a professed father in 1640. " 5Thomas Campion (d. 1619), was an early "physician, poet, and musician, was probably...
Another 86 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Camping Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Camping family to Ireland

Some of the Camping family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 143 words (10 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Camping migration to the United States +

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that plagued their homeland made the frontiers of the New World an attractive prospect. Thousands migrated, aboard cramped disease-ridden ships. They arrived sick, poor, and hungry, but were welcomed in many cases with far greater opportunity than at home in England. Many of these hardy settlers went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Among early immigrants bearing the name Camping or a variant listed above were:

Camping Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Magreta Camping, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1731 6

Camping Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Jose Camping, aged 30, who landed in Puerto Rico in 1833 6

Contemporary Notables of the name Camping (post 1700) +

Harold Egbert Camping (1921-2013), American Christian radio broadcaster, author and evangelist

Citations +

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)
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)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
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)