When Oliver Kemp was born on 11 July 1735, in Groton, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America, his father, John Kemp, was 27 and his mother, Sarah Holden, was 24. He died from 1736 to 1825.
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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’.
Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.
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