Origin
Champion : 1: English (southern of Norman origin) and French: from Middle English Old French campion champiun champion ‘athlete’ such as a wrestler or boxer; also ‘warrior hired to do battle in single combat on behalf of others’ (from Late Latin campio genitive campionis a derivative of campus ‘plain field of battle’). The first sense is probably the more usual source of the surname.2: English (southern of Norman origin): habitational name from Old French Champoigne Champagne the name of the French province or from the derived ethnic name champaignon ‘person from Champagne’. Either of these could develop to Champion in Middle English.3: French: habitational name from (Le) Champion the name of several places in various parts of France.
Campion : 1: English (of Norman origin) and French: variant of Champion from the Norman French form campion. A status name for a professional champion or an athlete such as a wrestler or boxer; the name also denoted a ‘warrior hired to do battle in single combat on behalf of others’ (compare Kemp).2: Breton (also Le Campion): cognate of French Champion of Old French origin.
Campione : Italian:: 1: occupational name for a professional champion from Late Latin campio genitive campiōnis (see Champion and compare Kemp).2: habitational name from any of numerous places called Campione of which there is one in Lombardy.
Dimock : English (Cambridgeshire): habitational name from Dymock in Gloucestershire named perhaps from a British word akin to Welsh tymoch ‘pigsty’ but more probably from a Celtic din ‘fort’ + moch ‘swine’. A family of the name Dymoke held the hereditary position of King's Champion for thirty-four generations starting in the late 14th century when John Dymoke adopted the role following his marriage to Margaret de Ludlow.
Doughty : English: nickname for a powerful or brave man especially a champion jouster from Middle English do(u)ghti douti dighti (Old English dohtig dyhtig) ‘bold brave strong; worthy; excellent’.
Kampe : German:: 1: habitational name from any of several places called Kamp(e) in Pomerania in Hesse and near Düsseldorf.2: status name for a peasant farmer or serf (see Kamp).3: (Kämpe): occupational name for a champion (see Kampf).
Kampf : 1: German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) (mainly Kämpf): from Middle High German kampf German Kamf ‘fight struggle’ hence an occupational name for a champion a professional fighter (see Kemp) or a nickname for someone with a pugnacious temperament. As a Jewish name it can be artificial. Compare Kaempf.2: German: extended form of Kamp 1.
Kampfer : German (Kämpfer):: 1: occupational name for a fighter or champion from an agent derivative of Middle High German kampf ‘fight’ (see Kampf and Kemp).2: ‘standardized’ form of Kamper 1. Compare Kaempfer.
Kampmann : North German:: 1: topographic name for a farmer who lived by a fenced or hedged in field (outside the village) from Middle Low German kamp ‘enclosed field’ (see Kamp 1) + -mann ‘man’.2: habitational name from any of the places so named.3: occupational name for a champion (see Kampf and compare English Kemp).
Kemp : 1: 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.2: Dutch and North German (North Rhine-Westphalia): from the personal name Kempe Kampe; see 1 above.3: Dutch and Flemish: metonymic occupational name for someone who grew or processed hemp from Middle Dutch canep ‘hemp’.4: Dutch (Van der Kemp): Brabantine variant of Van der Kamp a topographic name from Middle Dutch kamp ‘enclosed fenced or hedged piece of land field’ (from Latin campus ‘plain’).
Kempner : German:: 1: occupational name for a champion at jousting or wrestling an agent derivative of Kempe ‘fight’ (see Kemp).2: habitational name with agent suffix -er for someone from any of various places called Kempen (notably near Krefeld) or from Kempno near Poznań Poland.
O'Malley : Irish (Mayo and Galway): Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Máille. This is of uncertain derivation. Woulfe suggests a Celtic source maglios ‘prince champion poet’. There is a Gaelic adjective mall ‘slow stately’ and another málla meaning ‘sedate pleasant’ and an abstract noun máille ‘stateliness’; the source could be any of these.
Torrens : 1: Catalan: altered form of Torrents a topographic name for someone living by the course of a torrent from the plural of Catalan torrent ‘mountain stream torrent’ (from Latin torrens).2: Irish (Derry and Antrim): shortened Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Toráin Ó Taráin ‘descendant of Torán’ a personal name formed from a diminutive of Gaelic tor ‘tower champion hero’ or possibly a borrowing of Norse Thorfinn compare Corrin. The final extraneous or possessive -s (sometimes spelt -ce) is not original.3: Scottish (Glasgow): variant of Torrence.
Vegter : Dutch: occupational name meaning ‘fighter’ denoting a professional champion or duelist someone who fought duels for legal purposes or one who fought for entertainment at fairs.
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Source : DAFN2 : Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, ©2022 by Patrick Hanks and Oxford University Press
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