Kemp Family History
Kemp Name Meaning
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’).
Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022