Show ContentsCampling History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Campling is a name that first reached England following the Norman Conquest in 1066. It is a name for a maker or seller of camel hair cloth. Looking back even further, we found the name was originally derived from the Anglo Norman French word camelin, which means camel.

Early Origins of the Campling family

The surname Campling was first found in Norfolk, where they held a family seat from ancient times.

Early History of the Campling family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Campling research. Another 242 words (17 lines of text) covering the years 1273, 1400, 1401, 1500, 1627, 1664, 1674, 1679, 1790, 1791 and 1797 are included under the topic Early Campling History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Campling Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names tend to be marked by an enormous number of spelling variations. This is largely due to the fact that Old and Middle English lacked any spelling rules when Norman French was introduced in the 11th century. The languages of the English courts at that time were French and Latin. These various languages mixed quite freely in the evolving social milieu. The final element of this mix is that medieval scribes spelled words according to their sounds rather than any definite rules, so a name was often spelled in as many different ways as the number of documents it appeared in. The name was spelled Camplin, Campelin, Camplyon, Camplyn, Camplen, Camplinge and many more.

Early Notables of the Campling family

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

Migration of the Campling family

Because of the political and religious discontent in England, families began to migrate abroad in enormous numbers. Faced with persecution and starvation at home, the open frontiers and generally less oppressive social environment of the New World seemed tantalizing indeed to many English people. The trip was difficult, and not all made it unscathed, but many of those who did get to Canada and the United States made important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers with Campling name or one of its variants: Thomas Camplin, who arrived in Toronto in 1871; Richard Camplin, who came to Ontario in 1871; Jacob Camplin, who settled in Ontario in 1871; Charles Camplin, who came to Ontario in 1871.


Contemporary Notables of the name Campling (post 1700) +

  • Christopher Russell Campling (1925-2020), English Anglican priest, Dean of Ripon


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