Kemp is a status name for a champion, from Middle English kempe, a word the Dictionary of the Scots Language defines as “a champion or fighter of great strength.” The surname is English, Scottish, Dutch and North German, and Scottish Kemps share it with far larger families in England and the United States.
Cempa and kempa: the warrior word
The Dictionary of American Family Names traces Kemp to Old English cempa and Old Norse kempa, both meaning “warrior,” and ultimately to a Germanic campo. In medieval usage a champion was a professional fighter who acted for others, the best-known example being the King’s Champion. A man who fought in that role, or who looked and behaved as if he might, could easily earn Kemp as a byname.
Because it describes a status rather than a home, Kemp has no place of origin. It could arise in any community where the word was understood, which is why the name is so widely scattered.
The kemp in Older Scots
Scots kept the word alive long after it faded from southern English. The Dictionary of the Scots Language records kemp as “a professional fighter… who engages in single combat” and as “one who fights on behalf of another,” with its earliest quotation dating from about 1500.
The same dictionary preserves a vivid example of the word turning into a byname: a man called “Irvine Kempt Garden… called the Kempt for killing of a feirce and mightie boar.” That single line shows exactly how a nickname for strength could attach itself to a man and his descendants.
Kempe, canep and Van der Kemp
Not every Kemp is a champion’s descendant. The Dictionary of American Family Names lists several continental origins: a Dutch and North German name from the personal name Kempe; an occupational name for a grower or processor of hemp, from Middle Dutch canep; and Van der Kemp or Van der Kamp, a topographic name from kamp, “field.” These meanings belong to the Low Countries, so an American Kemp line can lead back to the Netherlands or northern Germany rather than to Britain.
George Meikle Kemp and the Scott Monument
The Scott Monument in Edinburgh was designed by a Kemp who never trained as an architect. George Meikle Kemp began as a carpenter, taught himself architecture and studied the Gothic abbeys of Melrose, Dryburgh and Jedburgh.
After winning one of three prizes in the 1836 competition, he won the commission for the Scott memorial in 1838. He did not live to see it completed: in March 1844, on a dark and foggy evening, he fell into the Union Canal and drowned, months before the Scott Monument was finished.
Alexander Ferrie Kemp, from Greenock to Ontario
Another Scottish Kemp built a career in Canadian church and education. Alexander Ferrie Kemp was born in West Greenock on June 28, 1822, and served as minister of St Gabriel Street Church in Montreal from 1855 to 1865. A keen naturalist, he published on algae in the Canadian Naturalist and Geologist.
He later became the first principal of the Young Ladies’ College at Brantford, from 1874 to 1878, and then principal of Ottawa Ladies’ College from 1878 to 1883. He died in Hamilton, Ontario, on May 3, 1884.
Kemp, Kempe and Kempt in Scottish records
FamilySearch’s Family Tree lists about 41,422 people named Kemp associated with England, 38,538 with the United States and 5,322 with Scotland. Search Kemp together with Kempe and Kempt. Scottish Old Parish Registers cover the years before 1855, and statutory registers from 1855 give parents’ names; Alexander Ferrie Kemp’s Greenock birth is the kind of detail that anchors a family in one parish. If an American line uses Van der Kemp or appears among Dutch or German settlers, continental church records are the better place to look.
Our woven blanket, accent mug and ceramic ornament each carry the Kemp name. Explore our Kemp Scottish family gifts.
Frequently asked questions
What does the surname Kemp mean?
It means a champion, a strong fighter who fought on behalf of others.
Is Kemp a Scottish name?
It is Scottish and English, and also Dutch and North German in some families.
Who designed the Scott Monument?
George Meikle Kemp, a self-taught architect who won the design competition in 1838.
Does Kemp ever mean a hemp grower?
Only for some Dutch and Flemish families; the Scottish name comes from the champion word.