The name Camille originated from the Late Latin name Camillus, which derived from an old Roman surname meaning "attendant in a religious ceremony." The name has its roots in the ancient Roman culture and language.

In ancient Roman mythology, Camillus was the name of a young patrician boy who was favored by the gods. According to legend, he saved Rome from conquest by the Gauls in the 4th century BC. This story helped popularize the name throughout the Roman Empire.

The name Camille first appeared in historical records in the 6th century AD, when it was used by Saint Camillus de Lellis, the founder of the Order of Clerks Regular Ministers to the Sick. He was born in 1550 in Italy and canonized in 1746.

Over the centuries, several notable figures have borne the name Camille. One of the earliest was Camille Desmoulins, a French revolutionary and journalist who played a crucial role in the French Revolution. He was born in 1760 and executed in 1794 during the Reign of Terror.

Another famous Camille was Camille Pissarro, a Danish-French Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist painter born in 1830. He is considered one of the founders of Impressionism and a significant figure in the history of art.

In literature, Camille Claudel was a French sculptor and graphic artist born in 1864. She was a gifted artist but struggled with mental illness and spent the last 30 years of her life in an asylum.

In the realm of science, Camille Flammarion was a French astronomer and author born in 1842. He made significant contributions to the popularization of astronomy and wrote several influential books on the subject.

Finally, Camille Saint-Saëns was a French composer, organist, and pianist born in 1835. He is celebrated for his opera Samson et Dalila and instrumental works like The Carnival of the Animals and Symphony No. 3.