How common is the surname Campbell?

386,157 people in the United States had the surname Campbell in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 800 Americans. It ranked 47th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Campbell?

Kim Campbell, 19th Prime Minister of Canada in 1993, followed by Joseph Campbell.

The surnameCampbell

A Scottish Gaelic patronymic surname, the 47th most common in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈkæmbəl/ 2 syllables Soundex C514 Also a first name

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Campbell is more common than 99.9% of them.

Origin

Scottish Gaelic origin

* As a Scottish surname, from Scottish Gaelic Caimbeul, from cam (“crooked”) + beul (“mouth”). Compare Cameron, from Scottish Gaelic cam (“crooked”) + sròn (“nose”). * As an Irish surname, from Mac Cathmhaoil (“son of Cathmhaol”), see Caulfield, Cowell. * As an English surname, variant of Camel, probably influenced by the above. * (duck breed): Developed by Adele Campbell.

Campbell is a patronymic surname: formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.

One of 277 Scottish Gaelic surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 386,157 people named Campbell in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 800 Americans. That is up 3.8% since 2000, when the Census counted 371,953.

#47

rank among US surnames

386,157

people in 2010

131

per 100,000 Americans

+3.8%

change since 2000 (was #43)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#38	Nguyen	437,645	705
#39	Hill	434,827	710
#40	Flores	433,969	711
#41	Green	430,182	718
#42	Adams	427,865	722
#43	Nelson	424,958	727
#44	Baker	419,586	736

Who is named Campbell

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

74% of people named Campbell identified as white (not Hispanic), 20% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.5% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 74%
Black (not Hispanic) 20%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.5%
Two or more races 2.1%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.7%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.5%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Campbells

127 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Kim Campbell
19th Prime Minister of Canada in 1993
Joseph Campbell
American mythologist, writer and lecturer (1904–1987)
Bruce Campbell
American actor, born 1958
Glen Campbell
American musician (1936–2017)
Danielle Campbell
American actress (born 1995)
John W. Campbell
American science fiction writer (1910–1971)
William Wallace Campbell
American astronomer (1862–1938)
Cate Campbell
Australian swimmer, Olympic gold medallist, world champion, former world record-holder, born 1992
Billy Campbell
American actor, born 1959
Bronte Campbell
Australian swimmer, Olympic athlete, world champion, former world record-holder, born 1994
Tisha Campbell
American actress, born 1968
Eric Campbell
British actor (1880–1917)

Notable Campbells come mostly from the United States (99), Australia (10) and the United Kingdom (6).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Campbell

Campfield

Campbell has the Soundex code C514, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code C514.

Other Scottish Gaelic surnames

All 277 Scottish Gaelic surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Campbell come from?: * As a Scottish surname, from Scottish Gaelic Caimbeul, from cam (“crooked”) + beul (“mouth”). Compare Cameron, from Scottish Gaelic cam (“crooked”) + sròn (“nose”). * As an Irish surname, from Mac Cathmhaoil (“son of Cathmhaol”), see Caulfield, Cowell. * As an English surname, variant of Camel,…
How common is the surname Campbell?: 386,157 people in the United States had the surname Campbell in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 800 Americans. It ranked 47th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Campbell?: In the 2010 Census, 74% of people named Campbell identified as white (not Hispanic), and 20% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Campbell?: Kim Campbell, 19th Prime Minister of Canada in 1993, followed by Joseph Campbell.