When Samuel Kemp was christened on 17 June 1827, in Ashton Under Lyne, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom, his father, Nathaniel Kemp, was 36 and his mother, Lydia Charlesworth, was 38. He died in 1827, at the age of 0.
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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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