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Camm History Etymology Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Camm History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Etymology of Camm

What does the name Camm mean?

The lineage of the name Camm begins with the Anglo-Saxon tribes in Britain. It is a result of when they lived on the bank of a river or stream named the of Cam. The surname Camm is topographic in nature, the type of surname that was given to a person who resided near a physical feature such as a river or stream. The surname also refers to the camb, which is the crest of a hill or a dike.

Early Origins of the Camm family

The surname Camm was first found in Gloucestershire, where the name is associated with the village of Cam, a parish, in the union of Dursley, Upper division of the hundred of Berkeley.

"This place is distinguished as the scene of a battle fought between the Saxons and the Danes, in the reign of Edward the Elder. The parish takes its name from a rivulet that divides it into Upper and Lower, and falls into the Severn at Frampton." 1

In the Domesday Book survey of 1086 Cam was recorded as King's land. 2 Early in the history of the family name it branched to Lincolnshire, where Ralph de Caham was registered in 1162, to Norfolk, where Osbert de Cam was living during the reign of King Henry II, and to Hampshire, where Fabian de Cam was recorded in 1184 and William Cam in 1205. By the 13th century the name was established in Somerset, where William de Camme was living in 1214. Hugh de Camme was a resident of Gloucestershire in 1221. 3

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 lists the following: Henry del Cam, Suffolk; and Robert de Cam, Oxfordshire. Later the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 listed Willelmus Cambe, conttabularius; Johannes Cambe; and Nicholaus Cambe as all holding lands there at that time. 4

Early History of the Camm family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Camm research. Another 258 words (18 lines of text) covering the years 1275, 1326, 1399, 1415, 1500, 1604, 1627, 1633, 1641, 1656, 1705, 1707, 1716, 1733 and 1771 are included under the topic Early Camm History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Camm Spelling Variations

Only recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Camm has undergone many spelling variations, including Cam, Camm, Camme, Caham, Cahm, Cahme and others.

Early Notables of the Camm family

Notables of this surname at this time include:

Anne Camm (1627-1705), was an English Quakeress, daughter of Richard Newby, was born at Kendal, Westmorland, in 1627. "Her parents sent her, when thirteen years old, to London that, under the care of...
John Camm (1604?-1656), was an English Quaker, "born at Camsgill, near Kendal, Westmorland, and was a man of good birth, tolerable education, and considerable property. " 5

Camm migration to the United States +

To escape the unstable social climate in England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Camm were among those contributors:

Camm Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

John Camm, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1708 6
Mary Camm, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1708 6

Camm migration to Australia +

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

Camm Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. James Camm, (b. 1776), aged 27, English labourer who was convicted in Kent, England for life for breaking and entering, transported aboard the "Coromandel" on 4th December 1803, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he was executed in 1832 7
Mr. Robert Camm, English convict who was convicted in South Kesteven, Lincolnshire, England for 10 years, transported aboard the "Barossa" on 8th December 1839, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 8
Mr. Robert Camm, English convict who was convicted in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Barossa" on 9th May 1844, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 8

Contemporary Notables of the name Camm (post 1700) +

Brigadier-General Frank Camm (1895-1976), American Executive Officer Artillery 78th Division (1942-1943) 9
Sir Sydney Camm (1893-1966), English aircraft designer
Frank Ambler Camm, Lieutenant General and Director of Tactical Nuclear Warfare for the United States State Department 10

Historic Events for the Camm family +

Mount Mulligan Mine

Thomas Camm, Australian coal miner who was killed in the Mount Mulligan Mine explosion in 1921

USS Arizona

Mr. William Fielden Camm, American Yeoman Second Class from Arkansas, USA working aboard the ship "USS Arizona" when she sunk during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7th December 1941, he died in the sinking 11

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
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)
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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 22nd March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/coromandel-and-experiment
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 24th September 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/barossa
Generals of World War II. (Retrieved 2011, November 3) Frank Camm. Retrieved from http://generals.dk/general/Camm/Frank/USA.html
Frank Camm. (Retrieved 2016, February 10) Frank Camm. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/frank-a-camm-army-lieutenant-general/2012/02/06/gIQAvjfquQ_story.html
Pearl Harbour: USS Arizona Casualties List Pearl Harbour December 7, 1941. (Retrieved 2018, July 31st). Retrieved from http://pearl-harbor.com/arizona/casualtylist.html