Camp is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

taken from

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

roots. The name is found in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...

and in other places throughout the world settled by the English. According to the 2000 census there are fewer than 1300 Camps in the UK. The 2000 US census puts the number at over 27,000, making it the 1087th most common name in America, after McDermott.. The Australian government currently reports 465 persons named Camp. The governments of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

, and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

do not currently provide lists of surnames as the UK and others do. Totals outside the

English-speaking world Speakers of English are also known as Anglophones, and the countries where English is natively spoken by the majority of the population are termed the '' Anglosphere''. Over two billion people speak English , making English the largest languag ...

are also unknown.

Origins

People with the surname Camp have no single origin or ancestor, the name instead having been chosen by different families over a few centuries. The name is sometimes a variant spelling of "

Kemp Kemp may refer to: Places * Kemp, Illinois * Kemp, Ohio * Kemp, Oklahoma * Kemp, Texas * Kemp Land and Kemp Coast, Antarctica * Kemp Town, a 19th-century estate in East Sussex, England * Kemps Corner, place in India People * Kemp (surname) * Ke ...

", which comes from the Old West Germanic ''"kampo-z"'', meaning "a contest, or fight", which in turn became the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th ...

''"kemp"'', for a "fighter" or "soldier." However, the name usually denotes a family whose house was on an open field, or "camp", rather than in the woods or elsewhere. The word was borrowed from the

Middle French Middle French (french: moyen français) is a historical division of the French language that covers the period from the 14th to the 16th century. It is a period of transition during which: * the French language became clearly distinguished from t ...

''"camp"'', its first use in English, in 1528, being for a "place where an army lodges temporarily", only later transferring to a non-military use sometime after 1560. The French ''"camp"'' (later ''"champ"'') is itself derived from the

''"campus"'', which also meant an "open field", but also and especially an "open space for military exercise". Coincidentally, the word's

martial Marcus Valerius Martialis (known in English as Martial ; March, between 38 and 41 AD – between 102 and 104 AD) was a Roman poet from Hispania (modern Spain) best known for his twelve books of ''Epigrams'', published in Rome between AD 86 and ...

sense had been borrowed by the Germanic tribes during their conflicts with the Romans to become the aforementioned ''"kampo-z"''. Throughout the English-speaking world, but especially the United States, the name is sometimes derived from other, often longer, European names (e.g. the Italian " Campesi" or the Dutch " Van de Kamp") which were changed during the process of

cultural assimilation Cultural assimilation is the process in which a minority group or culture comes to resemble a society's majority group or assume the values, behaviors, and beliefs of another group whether fully or partially. The different types of cultural ass ...

. Camp can also be a shortening or anglicizing of similar French names, such as " de Camp" and "du Camp".

Notable people with the Camp surname

Adrienne Camp Adrienn “Adie” Camp (née Liesching; born 12 July 1981) is a South African singer and songwriter, who is known as the lead singer of the Christian pop-rock band the Benjamin Gate before the group disbanded in 2003. She briefly contributed ...

(born 1981), South African singer-songwriter *

Albert Sidney Camp Albert Sidney Camp (July 26, 1892 – July 24, 1954) was an American politician, educator and lawyer. Biography Camp was born in Moreland, Georgia. The Camp family was a colonial family with ancestors arriving in the American colonies during t ...

(1892–1954), American politician, educator and lawyer * Anna Camp (1982– ), American actress * Bill Camp (1961-), American actor * Billy Joe Camp, American politician * Blake Camp (1983– ), American soccer (football) player *

Bob Camp Robert Frank Camp (born February 7, 1956) is an American animator, writer, cartoonist, comic book artist, storyboard artist, director, and producer. Camp has been nominated for two Emmys, a CableACE Award, and an Annie Award for his work on '' ...

(1954– ), American cartoonist and writer *

Candace Camp Candace Pauline Hopcus née Camp (May 23, 1949 in Amarillo, Texas) is an American writer of romance novels. She has also published under the pen names Lisa Gregory, Sharon Stephens, Kristin James and under her maiden name Candace Camp. Biog ...

(1949– ), American novelist *

Charles Lewis Camp Charles Lewis Camp (March 12, 1893 Jamestown, North Dakota – August 14, 1975 San Jose, California) was a palaeontologist and zoologist, working from the University of California, Berkeley. He took part in excavations at the ' Placerias Quarry', ...

(1893–1975), American paleontologist and zoologist * Colleen Camp (1953– ), American actress * Dalton Camp (1920–2002), Canadian politician and commentator *

Dave Camp David Lee Camp (born July 9, 1953) is a former American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1991 to 2015. Camp represented since 1993, and previously served one term representing . A member of the ...

(1953– ), American politician * David M. Camp (1788–1871), American attorney and politician * Donald Camp (1940– ), American artist, photographer, and professor *

Eldad Cicero Camp Eldad Cicero Camp, Jr. (August 1, 1839 – November 21, 1920) was an American coal tycoon, attorney and philanthropist, active primarily in Knoxville, Tennessee, and the vicinity. He was president of the Coal Creek Coal Company, president of t ...

(1839–1920), American coal tycoon, attorney and philanthropist * Frank Camp (1905–1986), American football coach *

Garrett Camp Garrett Camp (born October 4, 1978) is a Canadian billionaire entrepreneur. He has helped build a series of companies, including founding StumbleUpon, a web-discovery tool; co-founding Uber; and founding Expa, a startup studio. Camp is chairm ...

, American businessman *

Greg Camp Gregory Dean Camp (born April 2, 1967) is an American songwriter, guitarist, and vocalist. He is best known as the founding guitarist and songwriter for the rock band Smash Mouth (1994–2008, 2009–2011, 2014, 2018–2019). Camp is credited as ...

(1967– ), American songwriter, guitarist and vocalist * Hamilton Camp (1934–2005), English-American singer, songwriter, and actor * Harold V. Camp (1935-2022), American lawyer, politician, and businessman * Helen Page Camp (1930–1991), American actress * Howie Camp (1893–1960), American baseball player *

Jack Tarpley Camp Jr. Jack Tarpley Camp Jr. (born October 30, 1943) is a former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. A Republican, he was nominated by Ronald Reagan, and retired from the bench in Novem ...

(1943– ), American former judge *

Jalen Camp Jalen Camp (born July 10, 1998) is an American football wide receiver for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Georgia Tech. College career Camp played college football at Georgia Tech und ...

(born 1998), American football player * Jeremy Camp (1978– ), American Christian musician *

Jesse Camp Josiah Jesse Holden Camp IV is an American musician and television personality who was the winner of the first ''Wanna Be a VJ'' contest on MTV. Career Camp entered MTV's first ''Wanna Be a VJ'' contest in 1998. Portraying himself as homeless an ...

(1979– ), American music television presenter *

Joe Camp Joseph S. Camp Jr. (born April 20, 1939) is a motion picture director and writer who is best known as the creator and director of the ''Benji'' films, as well as '' Hawmps!'' and '' The Double McGuffin''. Camp resides in Bell Buckle, Tennessee ...

(1939– ), American film director * John Lafayette Camp (1828–1891), American politician * John Lafayette Camp Jr. (1855–1918), American politician * John H. Camp (1840–1892), American politician *

John Newbold Camp John Newbold Camp, known as Happy Camp (May 11, 1908 – September 27, 1987) was an American politician and a Republican U.S. Representative from Oklahoma. Biography Born in Enid, Camp was the son of Minnie C. Newbold and John R. Camp. Becau ...

(1908–1987), American politician * Kid Camp (1869–1895), American baseball pitcher * L. Jean Camp, American professor * Laurie Smith Camp (1953-2020), American judge *

Lee Camp (comedian) Lee Camp (born July 21, 1980) is an American writer, comedian, podcaster, news journalist and news commentator. As a television host he presented the show ''Redacted Tonight'' for several years on the network RT America until the network shut down ...

(1981– ), American comedian *

Lee Camp (footballer) Lee Michael John Camp (born 22 August 1984) is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper most recently for club Wrexham. Internationally, he represented Northern Ireland, being eligible through his Northern Ireland-born grandfather, al ...

(1984– ), English football (soccer) player * Lew Camp (1868–1948), American baseball player * Melanie Camp, Australian actress * Rick Camp (1953–2013), American baseball pitcher * Roger Camp (1946– ) American photographer and educator * Shawn Camp (baseball) (1975– ), American baseball pitcher * Shawn Camp (musician) (1966 ), American Country musician * Steve Camp (1955– ), American Christian musician * Walter Camp (1859–1925), American football coach and sports writer *

Walter Mason Camp Walter Mason Camp (1867–1925) was an American editor, author, railroad expert and historical researcher. Biography Walter Mason Camp was born in Camptown, Pennsylvania on April 21, 1867. He attended public school in Wyalusing, Pennsylvania be ...

(1867–1925), American author, railroad expert, and historian * William B. Camp (1913–1975), American bureaucrat * Wofford Benjamin Camp (1894–1986), American agronomist

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Camp (Surname)

Origins

Notable people with the Camp surname

See also

References