Kemp Family History

English, Scottish, Dutch, and North German: status name for a champion Middle English and Middle Low German kempe. In the Middle Ages, a champion was a professional fighter on behalf of others; for example, the King's Champion at the coronation had the duty of issuing a general challenge to battle to anyone who denied the king's right to the throne.

The Middle English word corresponds to Old English cempa and Old Norse kempa ‘warrior’; both these go back to ancient Germanic campo ‘warrior’, which is the source of the Dutch and North German name corresponding to High German Kampf.

Dutch and North German (North Rhine-Westphalia): from the personal name Kempe, Kampe; see 1 above. Dutch and Flemish: metonymic occupational name for someone who grew or processed hemp from Middle Dutch canep ‘hemp’.

Dutch (Van der Kemp): Brabantine variant of Van der Kamp, a topographic name from Middle Dutch kamp ‘enclosed, fenced, or hedged piece of land, field’ (from Latin campus ‘plain’).