English
The surname 'Camp' originates from England, and France. It is a variant of the name 'Campion', derived from the occupational name for a professional champion, especially as an agent employed to represent one of the parties in a trial by combat, a method of settling disputes current in the Middle Ages. The word comes from the Anglo French Norman word 'campion', 'campiun' (from the Late Latin word 'campio, a derivative of 'campus' meaning plain, field of battle). In England it also a local name used in the sense 'at the camp', i.e field. Compiled information from Historical and Private archive's has confirmed that the surname 'Camp' and or it's variant's, dates as far back as the 13th century were a 'Felicia in Campo', from the county of Cambridgeshire, England, is recorded on the Hundred Rolls in 1273. The exact period of settlement in North America has not been definitely determined but Information extracted from Public and Civil registry archive's confirm that one of the first settlers was a certain 'Thomas Camp', aged 17, a peruke maker by trade, from the county of Surrey, England. He emigrated to North America in 1774, sailing from the Port of London aboard the ship named the 'Minerva' on the 23rd of January 1774, arriving in Philadelphia on the 30th of January of the same, where he served as an indentured servant. Today, 'Camp' is the '952nd' most common surname in North America.