Campbell

English

Etymology

• 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.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkæmbəl/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æmbəl

Proper noun

Campbell (countable and uncountable, plural Campbells)

1. A characteristical surname from Scottish Gaelic.
   • 2009 April 14, Richard Sandomir, “Live From the Masters, It’s Not the Leaders”, in The New York Times‎^[1], archived from the original on 26 November 2022:

     But Perry, Cabrera and Campbell could hear the Masters bird choir tweeting (that’s 140 characters or less, ornithologically speaking) over the quiet of the gallery following them.

   • 2011 November, Carlton F.W. Larson, “Naming Baby: The Constitutional Dimensions of Parental Naming Rights”, in George Washington Law Review‎^[2], volume 80, number 1, archived from the original on 3 August 2025, pages 160-161:

     The Campbell family’s fascination with white supremacy was vividly expressed in the names of Adolf’s two siblings, “Honszlynn Hinler Jeannie Campbell,” an homage to Heinrich Himmler, and “JoyceLynn Aryan Nation Campbell.”² In selecting their children’s peculiar names, the Campbells had exercised a right specifically recognized in New Jersey statutory law, which states, “The designation of a child’s name including the surname is the right of the child’s parent(s).”³

2. A male given name transferred from the surname.
3. A female given name transferred from the surname, of 2000s and later usage.
4. A number of places in the United States:
   1. An unincorporated community in Clarke County, Alabama.
   2. A city in Santa Clara County, California.
   3. A census-designated place in Osceola County, Florida.
   4. An unincorporated community in Delta County, Michigan.
   5. A minor city in Wilkin County, Minnesota.
   6. A city in Dunklin County, Missouri.
   7. A village in Franklin County, Nebraska.
   8. A town with hamlet and census-designated place therein, in Steuben County, New York.
   9. Former name of Kintyre, Emmons County, North Dakota.
   10. A city in Mahoning County, Ohio.
   11. A minor city in Hunt County, Texas.
   12. A town on a Mississippi island in La Crosse County, Wisconsin.
   13. A number of townships in the United States, listed under Campbell Township.
5. A town in the Northern Cape province, South Africa.
6. A suburb of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.
7. (US, law, copyright law, US politics, informal, uncountable) Ellipsis of Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc., a 1994 U.S. Supreme Court case that held that commercial parodies can be subject to fair use.

Derived terms

• Campbell County
• Campbellian
• Campbellism
• Campbellite
• Campbell Park
• Campbell River
• Campbellsburg
• Campbellsville
• Campbellton
• Campbelltown
• Campbell Town
• Port Campbell
• Williams-Campbell syndrome

Statistics

• According to the 2010 United States Census, Campbell is the 47^th most common surname in the United States, belonging to 386,157 individuals. Campbell is most common among White (73.7%) and Black/African American (20.5%) individuals.

Noun

Campbell (plural Campbells)

1. A British breed of domestic duck developed at Uley, in Gloucestershire, England, at the turn of the 20th century.

Derived terms

• Khaki Campbell