Kemper History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Netherlands
England

The ancient name of Kemper finds its origins with the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It comes from a name for a 'kembster,' a wool-comber. 1 Traditionally a female occupation, early rolls note "Agnes," and "Alice" as in Alice le Kembester in Cheshire 1302-1303. 2 One source notes the name could have originated in Kempston in either Bedfordshire or Norfolk. 3

Early Origins of the Kemper family

The surname Kemper was first found in Huntingdonshire where Agnes Kembestere was recorded in 1252. Later in Oxfordshire, Dionisia le Kemstere was listed at Oseney in 1317 and later again, Agnes Kempster was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Cambridgeshire in 1327. 4

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 had only one entry for the family, that of Peter Cambestre in Cambridgeshire. In Yorkshire, the Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 included: Agnes Kembester; Johanna Saper, kemster; and Robertus Kembster. 1

Early History of the Kemper family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Kemper research. Another 95 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1273, 1379, 1627, 1684, 1715, 1747, 1791 and 1806 are included under the topic Early Kemper History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Kemper Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Kemper family name include Kemper, Kempster, Kemster and others.

Early Notables of the Kemper family

Another 32 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Kemper Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Kemper Ranking

In the United States, the name Kemper is the 3,795^th most popular surname with an estimated 7,461 people with that name. 5 However, in Netherlands, the name Kemper is ranked the 683^rd most popular surname with an estimated 2,726 people with that name. 6

Kemper migration to the United States +

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, the Canadas, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Kemper surname or a spelling variation of the name include :

Kemper Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Daniel Kemper, who sailed to Boston in 1651
Danell Kemper, who arrived in America in 1652 7
Fanell Kemper, who arrived in Massachusetts in 1652 7

Kemper Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Johann Kemper, who landed in Virginia in 1714 7
Jacob Kemper, who landed in New Jersey in 1751 7
John Kemper, who arrived in New Jersey in 1755 7
Johannes Kemper, who landed in New York, NY in 1782 7

Kemper Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Johanne Kemper, who arrived at Baltimore, Maryland on August 19, 1868 aboard the "Berlin Of Bremen"
Gert Kemper, who arrived in America in 1836 7
Elis Kemper, who landed in America in 1844 7
Christ Kemper, who landed in America in 1844 7
Heinr Kemper, who landed in America in 1846 7
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Kemper (post 1700) +

James Scott Kemper (1886-1981), American insurance company founder and billionaire, founder of the Kemper Corporation
Alexander Sandy Kemper (b. 1965), American entrepreneur
Jackson Kemper (1789-1870), American first missionary bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States in 1835, eponym of Kemper Hall, Kenosha, Wisconsin
Hunter Craig Kemper (b. 1976), American two-time gold and silver medalist triathlete
Frederick T. Kemper (1816-1881), American founder of Kemper Military School in Boonville, Missouri
Elizabeth Claire "Ellie" Kemper (b. 1980), American actress, comedian, and writer
Dwight Kemper (b. 1958), American mystery writer
David Kemper, American television writer and producer, best known for his science fiction/fantasy show Farscape
David Law Kemper (b. 1947), American rock drummer
Thomas Kemper, American brewer of root beer, ginger ale, and other sodas under the Thomas Kemper Soda Co, founded in 1990
... (Another 8 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
Barber, Henry, British Family Names London: Elliot Stock, 62 Paternoster Row, 1894. Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
"Most Common Last Names in Netherlands." Forebears, https://forebears.io/netherlands/surnames
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)