Camp is an English

surname In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...

taken from

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

roots. The name is found in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

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 McDermott or MacDermott is an Irish surname and the anglicised version of Mac Diarmada (also spelled Mac Diarmata), the surname of the ruling dynasty of Moylurg, a kingdom that existed in Connacht from the 10th to 16th centuries. The last ruling ...

.. The

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n government currently reports 465 persons named Camp. The governments of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

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

English-speaking world The English-speaking world comprises the 88 countries and territories in which English language, English is an official, administrative, or cultural language. In the early 2000s, between one and two billion people spoke English, making it the ...

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

Old English Old English ( or , or ), 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 developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

''"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 () is a historical division of the French language that covers the period from the mid-14th to the early 17th centuries. It is a period of transition during which: * the French language became clearly distinguished from the other co ...

''"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 and Celtiberian poet born in Bilbilis, Hispania (modern Spain) best known for his twelve books of '' Epigrams'', pu ...

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 Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

" 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 Dominant culture, majority group or fully adopts the values, behaviors, and beliefs of another group. The melting pot model is based on this ...

. 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 Adrienne “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 contribute ...

(born 1981), South African singer-songwriter * Albert Sidney Camp (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. He is best known for founding Spümcø and his work for developing and serving as a showrunner ...

(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. Biogra ...

(1949– ), American novelist * Charles Lewis Camp (1893–1975), American paleontologist and zoologist * Colleen Camp (1953– ), American actress * Cordelia Camp (1884–1973), American author and educator *

Dalton Camp Dalton Kingsley Camp (September 11, 1920 – March 18, 2002) was a Canadians, Canadian journalist, politician, political strategist and commentator, and supporter of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada. Although he was never electe ...

(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 (1839–1920), American coal tycoon, attorney and philanthropist * Emma Camp Mead (1866-1934), hotelkeeper and herbalist * Frank Camp (1905–1986), American football coach *

Garrett Camp Garrett Camp (born October 4, 1978) is a Canadian-French businessman, investor, and software engineer. He helped build the search engine StumbleUpon and is a co-founder of Uber. He lives in Los Angeles. Early life and education Camp was born ...

, American businessman * Greg Camp (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. (1943– ), American former judge * Jalen Camp (born 1998), American football player *

Jeremy Camp Jeremy Thomas Camp (born January 12, 1978) is an American Contemporary Christian music, contemporary Christian singer and songwriter from Lafayette, Indiana. He has released eleven albums, four of them RIAA certification, RIAA-certified as Music ...

(1978– ), American Christian musician * Jesse Camp (1979– ), American music television presenter * Joe Camp (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 (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) (1981– ), American comedian * Lee Camp (footballer) (1984– ), English football (soccer) player * Lew Camp (1868–1948), American baseball player *

Melanie Camp Melanie Camp is an Australian-born media professional based in Houston, Texas. One of five children, she grew up in Perth, Western Australia. Career Melanie Camp is a Houston based television correspondent. She is part of the team on "Houston ...

, Australian actress *

Rick Camp Rick Lamar Camp (June 10, 1953 – April 25, 2013) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for a total of nine seasons with the Atlanta Braves between 1976 and 1985."Rick Camp, 59, Pitcher gained fa ...

(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 Walter Chauncey Camp (April 7, 1859 – March 14, 1925) was an American college football player and coach, and sports writer known as the "Father of American Football". Among a long list of inventions, he created the sport's line of scrimmage a ...

(1859–1925), American football coach and sports writer * Walter Mason Camp (1867–1925), American author, railroad expert, and historian * William B. Camp (1913–1975), American bureaucrat * Wofford Benjamin Camp (1894–1986), American

agronomist An agriculturist, agriculturalist, agrologist, or agronomist (abbreviated as agr.) is a professional in the science, practice, and management of agriculture and agribusiness. It is a regulated profession in Canada, India, the Philippines, the Uni ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Camp (Surname)

Origins

Notable people with the Camp surname

See also

References