2000
#1,087
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 29,432
First available Census row
Per 100,000 10.91
Uncommon Last name
Camp
A topographic surname referring to someone who lived near or worked at a field or clearing.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 32,598 Americans carry the last name Camp. That puts it at #1,217 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 9.51 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 10,515 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Camp surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Camp with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
33K
1 in 10,515
Census rank
#1,217
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
9.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
28K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 28,427 bearers of the surname Camp in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 9.51 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1217th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Camp, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.9%. The next largest groups are Black (9.7%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Camp
The surname Camp is of English origin, deriving from the Old English word "camp," meaning a field or enclosure. The name can be traced back to the early medieval period in England, with some of the earliest recorded instances appearing in the Domesday Book of 1086.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with this surname was Roger de Camp, who was listed in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1195. Another early bearer of the name was Robert le Camp, who was mentioned in the Curia Regis Rolls of Lincolnshire in 1221.
The Camp surname is also associated with various place names in England, such as Camp Hill in Warwickshire and Campsall in Yorkshire. These place names likely contributed to the spread and adoption of the surname in their respective regions.
In the 13th century, the name appeared in various spellings, including Campe, Camppe, and Kempe. This variation in spelling was common during that time due to the lack of standardized spelling rules.
One notable historical figure with the Camp surname was Nicholas Camp (c. 1550-1619), an English clergyman and writer who served as the rector of St. Edmund's Church in Salisbury and authored several religious works.
Another prominent individual was Walter Camp (1859-1925), an American sports writer and athlete who is widely regarded as the "Father of American Football." He helped establish many of the rules and traditions of the game and played a crucial role in its development and popularization.
In the literary world, Walter Camp Jr. (1893-1973), the son of Walter Camp, was an esteemed author and journalist. He wrote several novels and short stories, including the acclaimed work "The Human Comedy."
Sir Stratford Canning (1786-1880), a British diplomat and politician, also bore the Camp surname through his maternal lineage. He served as the British Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire and played a significant role in the establishment of the modern nation of Greece.
Finally, Sir John Camp (1922-2008), a British businessman and philanthropist, made significant contributions to education and the arts. He served as the chairman of the prestigious Courtauld Institute of Art and was knighted for his services to the arts and higher education.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Camp
Among Census respondents with the surname Camp, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.9%. The next largest groups are Black (9.7%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Camp bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Camp surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White81.9% · 23,283
- Black or African American9.7% · 2,767
- Two or more races4.0% · 1,143
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 844
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 196
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 194
Timeline
Historical Census data for Camp
Camp appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#1,189
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 29,753
+321 bearers (+1.1%)
Per 100,000 10.09
Rank movement Down 102 places
2020
#1,217
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 28,427
-1,326 bearers (-4.5%)
Per 100,000 9.51
Rank movement Down 28 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,087 | 29,432 | 10.91 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,189 | 29,753 | 10.09 | +321 bearers (+1.1%) | Down 102 places |
| 2020 | #1,217 | 28,427 | 9.51 | -1,326 bearers (-4.5%) | Down 28 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Camp surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #1,189 | #1,217 | -2.4% |
| Count | 29,753 | 28,427 | -4.5% |
| Per 100K | 10.09 | 9.51 | -5.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Camp bearers went from 29,753 to 28,427 (-4.5% change). The surname moved down 28 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,189 to #1,217.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Camp
FAQ
Camp surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Camp?
Name Census estimates that about 32,598 living Americans carry the surname Camp. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 10,515 residents.
How common is Camp?
Camp ranks #1,217 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 9.51 per 100,000 residents, which is about 10 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 28,427 people with the surname Camp. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (32,598), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 9.51 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 9.51 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 10 of them to have the surname Camp.
Has Camp become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Camp went from 29,753 recorded bearers to 28,427. That is a decrease of 1,326 (-4.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,189 to #1,217.
What does the Census say about the background of Camp?
Among Census respondents with the surname Camp, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.9%. The next largest groups are Black (9.7%) and Two or More Races (4.0%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Camp in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.9% (23,283 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Camp appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (81.9%), Black (9.7%), Two or More Races (4.0%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Camp (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Camp mean?
A topographic surname referring to someone who lived near or worked at a field or clearing. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Camp (9.51 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Camp?
Find out how many people have the surname Camp on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.