Show ContentsHampel History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Etymology of Hampel

What does the name Hampel mean?

The ancestry of the name Hampel dates from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It comes from when the family lived in the village of Hampton in the dioceses of Worcester, Hereford, London, Exeter, and Lichford. 1 Another source notes "there are at least thirteen parishes of this name in England, representing the the Dioceses of Worcester, London, Hereford, Oxford, Exeter, and Lichfield." 2

The family may have originated in Normandy as the Magni Rotuli Scaccarii Normanniae lists: William de Hantona, Normandy, 1198 and William, Aelis, Gervase, Osbert, Walter de Hantona, Normandy, 1180-98. Alexander, Reiner, Roger, Simon de Hamton, England, 1198. 3

Early Origins of the Hampel family

The surname Hampel was first found in Staffordshire where they were recorded as a family of great antiquity seated at Wolverhampton with manor and estates in that shire. However, the name has three distinct origins: from the Old English word ham-tun as in "home farm, homestead"; from the Old English words hamm + tun, meaning "farmstead in an enclosure or river bend"; and finally from the Old English hean + tun meaning "high farmstead." 4

The earliest place name found was Hamtona in 716 which later became Hampton Lovett which is now a village and civil parish in the Wychavon district of the county of Worcestershire. The Domesday Book listed the following place names: Hamtune, Hantone, Hamntone Hantune, Hantone and Hantun. 4

The first record of the family was found in Oxfordshire where the Cartulary of Osney Abbey lists Philip de Hamtona in 1166. Later, Edith de Hampton was listed in the Assize Rolls for Worcestershire in 1221 and Richard Hampton was found in the Subsidy Rolls for Sussex in 1327. 5

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 had quite a few listings of the family: John de Hampton, Somerset; William de Hamptone, Huntingdonshire; Nicholas de Hampton, Wiltshire; Philip de Hampton, Cambridgeshire; and Geoffrey de Hampton, Lincolnshire. 2

But another source claims the name goes back to Saxon times. "Some Hamptons (e.g. in cos. Hereford and Somerset) occur in charters of the A.- Saxon period as Hamtún and Homtún; others (e.g. in cos. Gloucester and War­wick) as Heámtúne or Heántúne. South­ampton occurs as Hamtún ('æt Hamtúne') in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, A.D. 837, which gives name to Hampshire. Some Hamptons (e.g. High Hampton, Devonshire, and Hampton-on-the-Hill, Warwickshire) indicate their etymology by later prefixes or suffixes." 6

In Scotland, the name is "from one of the many Hamptons in England. Bardsley says there are at least thirteen parishes of the name there Rogerus de Hamtone witnessed resignation of the lands of Edeluestun to the church of Glasgow, 1233." 7

The Hamptons, part of the East End of Long Island in New York are a group of villages and hamlets in the towns of Southampton and East Hampton that collectively date back to the late nineteenth century when the area changed from a farming to a popular destination for the wealthy.

Early History of the Hampel family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hampel research. Another 81 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1166, 1221, 1327, 1552, 1611, 1612, 1625 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Hampel History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hampel Spelling Variations

Spelling variations in names were a common occurrence before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago. In the Middle Ages, even the literate spelled their names differently as the English language incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other European languages. Many variations of the name Hampel have been found, including Hampton, Hamptonne and others.

Early Notables of the Hampel family

Notables of this surname at this time include: Christopher Hampton (1552-1625), Archbishop of Armagh, called John in the printed Patent Rolls, was born at Calais in 1552, and was of English descent, educated at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. On the death of Brutus (or Brute) Babington, D.D., Bishop of Derry, he was nominated to that see (Cat. State Papers, Ireland, 1611-14, p. 181)...
Another 62 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Hampel Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Hampel family to Ireland

Some of the Hampel family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 50 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


Hampel migration to the United States +

Families began migrating abroad in enormous numbers because of the political and religious discontent in England. Often faced with persecution and starvation in England, the possibilities of the New World attracted many English people. Although the ocean trips took many lives, those who did get to North America were instrumental in building the necessary groundwork for what would become for new powerful nations. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America bore the name Hampel, or a variant listed above:

Hampel Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Charles Gotteil Hampel, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1773 8
Hampel Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Louis Hampel, who landed in Mississippi in 1853 8
  • Margaret Hampel, aged 40, who arrived in New York, NY in 1876 8
  • Margareth Hampel, aged 24, who landed in New York, NY in 1876 8
  • May Hampel, aged 12, who arrived in New York, NY in 1876 8
  • Oswald Hampel, aged 17, who landed in New York, NY in 1876 8
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Hampel (post 1700) +

  • George Hampel (1885-1954), American politician, accountant and bookseller, Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the Milwaukee 3rd district (1931-1932)
  • George Hampel (1885-1954), American politician, Member of Wisconsin State Assembly, 1931-32; Member of Wisconsin State Senate 6th District, 1937-44; Defeated, 1932, 1944 9
  • Otto Hampel (1897-1943), German protester of Hitler's government who together with Elise Lemme were eventually caught, tried, and beheaded in Berlin's Plötzensee Prison in April 1943; their story was the inspiration of the 2009 novel Every Man Dies Alone
  • Oliver Hampel (b. 1985), German retired football player
  • Olaf Hampel (b. 1965), German four-time gold medalist bobsledder in the 1990s
  • József Hampel (1849-1913), Hungarian archaeologist and member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
  • Gunter Hampel (b. 1937), German jazz vibraphonist, clarinettist, saxophonist, flautist and pianist
  • Professor George Hampel AM QC, Australian jurist, Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria from 1983 to 2000
  • Felicity Pia Hampel SC (b. 1955), Australian human rights lawyer and, since 2005, judge of the County Court of Victoria
  • Desiderius Hampel, Croatian SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Waffen-SS during World War II who commanded the 13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar (1st Croatian) and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
  • ... (Another 1 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Bismarck
  • Helmut Hampel (1920-1941), German Matrosengefreiter who served aboard the German Battleship Bismarck during World War II when it was sunk heading to France; he died in the sinking 10
  • Adolf Hampel (1920-1941), German Steuermannsmaat who served aboard the German Battleship Bismarck during World War II when it was sunk heading to France; he died in the sinking 10


  1. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  2. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  3. 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)
  4. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  5. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  6. Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
  7. 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)
  8. 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)
  9. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 19) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
  10. Bismarck & Tirpitz Class - Crew List Bismarck. (Retrieved 2018, February 06). Retrieved from https://www.bismarck-class.dk/bismarck/crew/bismarck_crew.html#crew_details


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