Campian History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland
Ireland

The name Campian reached English shores for the first time with the ancestors of the Campian family as they migrated following the Norman Conquest in 1066. Campian 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 Campian family

The surname Campian 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 Campian family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Campian 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 Campian History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Campian Spelling Variations

Multitudes of spelling variations are a hallmark of Anglo Norman names. Most of these names evolved in the 11th and 12th century, in the time after the Normans introduced their own Norman French language into a country where Old and Middle English had no spelling rules and the languages of the court were French and Latin. To make matters worse, medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, so names frequently appeared differently in the various documents in which they were recorded. The name was spelled Campion, Champion and others.

Early Notables of the Campian 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 Campian Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Campian family to Ireland

Some of the Campian 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.

Campian migration to the United States +

Because of this political and religious unrest within English society, many people decided to immigrate to the colonies. Families left for Ireland, North America, and Australia in enormous numbers, traveling at high cost in extremely inhospitable conditions. The New World in particular was a desirable destination, but the long voyage caused many to arrive sick and starving. Those who made it, though, were welcomed by opportunities far greater than they had known at home in England. Many of these families went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Campian or a variant listed above:

Campian Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Richard Campian, who landed in Maryland in 1657 6

Campian Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Abr Campian, who arrived in Virginia in 1703 6

Campian Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Mary Campian, aged 18, who landed in New York in 1854 6
Michael Campian, aged 12, who arrived in New York in 1854 6

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)