# Kemp (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/kemp/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Dutch |
| Type | occupational, named after the work an ancestor did |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 46,146 |
| US rank (2010) | 753 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 6,691 people |
| Change since 2000 | +3.2% (44,701 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /kɛmp/, 1 syllable |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

* As an English, Scottish, Dutch, and north/Low German surname, from the noun kemp (“champion, warrior”), similar to Kampf. * As a Dutch and West Flemish occupational surname, from Middle Dutch canep (“hemp”) (see modern hennep). * Also as a Dutch surname Van der Kemp, Brabantine variant of Van der Kamp, from van (“of”) + der (“the”) + kamp (“camp”), related to the first sense above. The place names are from the surname.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Kemp in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 72% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 23% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.1% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.5% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.7% |
| Two or more races | 2.2% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Kemp in the United States, the United Kingdom, The Bahamas and Australia.

## People named Kemp

- Brian Kemp, American politician (born 1963)
- Shawn Kemp, American basketball player (born 1969)
- Jack Kemp, American football player and politician (1935–2009)
- Troy Kemp, Bahamian high jumper
- Jenny Kemp, American swimmer
- Elizabeth Kemp, American actress
- Martin Kemp, British art historian
- Matty Kemp, actor (1907-1999)
- Hal Kemp, American jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader, composer, and arranger (1904–1940
- Kemp Muhl, American musician and model
- Taylor Kemp, American soccer player (born 1990)
- David Kemp, Australian cyclist

and 6 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Kamp, Kump, Kempf, Knapp, Knepp, Knopp, Knipp, Knopf, Knop, Knipe, Knupp, Knaub.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.