Show ContentsComper History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

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

Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Etymology of Comper

What does the name Comper mean?

Comper is a name that was carried to England in the great wave of migration from Normandy following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Comper 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 Comper family

The surname Comper 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 Comper family

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

Comper Spelling Variations

Before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago, spelling variations of names were a common occurrence. Elements of Latin, Norman French and other languages became incorporated into English throughout the Middle Ages, and name spellings changed even among the literate. The variations of the surname Comper include Camp, Campe, Camper, Campor, Comper and others.

Early Notables of the Comper family

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

Migration of the Comper family

In England at this time, the uncertainty of the political and religious environment of the time caused many families to board ships for distant British colonies in the hopes of finding land and opportunity, and escaping persecution. The voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, though, and many arrived in North America sick, starved, and destitute. Those who did make it, however, were greeted with greater opportunities and freedoms that they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Early immigration records have shown some of the first Compers to arrive on North American shores: 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..

Contemporary Notables of the name Comper (post 1700) +

  • Nicholas Comper (1897-1939), English aviator and aircraft designer from Lambeth, London, founder of the Comper Aircraft Company which produced the Comper Kite, Comper Mouse, Comper Streak, and the Comper Swift
  • Sir Ninian Comper (1864-1960), Scottish architect, one of the last of the great Gothic Revival architects, known for St Cyprian's Church, London, St Mary's, Wellingborough, St Michael & All Angels, Inverness; the Lady Chapel at Downside Abbey, Somerset and many more
  • John Comper (1823-1903), Anglican Priest who served in the Episcopal Church in Scotland
  • F. Anthony "Tony" Comper (b. 1945), Canadian banker, former president and chief executive officer of Bank of Montreal
  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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