Show ContentsCampee History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

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  • England
Campee Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Etymology of Campee

What does the name Campee mean?

Campee is a name that first reached England following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Campee 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 Campee family

The surname Campee 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 Campee family

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

Campee Spelling Variations

It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, Anglo-Norman surnames like Campee are characterized by many spelling variations. 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. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages such as Norman French and Latin, even literate people regularly changed the spelling of their names. The variations of the name Campee include Camp, Campe, Camper, Campor, Comper and others.

Early Notables of the Campee family

More information is included under the topic Early Campee Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Campee family

Faced with the chaos present in England at that time, many English families looked towards the open frontiers of the New World with its opportunities to escape oppression and starvation. People migrated to North America, as well as Australia and Ireland in droves, paying exorbitant rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, but those who did see the shores of North America were welcomed with great opportunity. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America carried the name Campee, or a variant listed above: Nicholas Camp who settled in New Haven in 1630; Mrs. Camp settled in Boston in 1769 with her daughter; Daniel, James, John, Joseph, Thomas, arrived in Philadelphia between 1840 and 1875..
  1. 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)
  2. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  3. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  4. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  5. Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.

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