Campbell

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ORIGIN AND HISTORY

Dugald on Lochawe is said to have been the first given the nickname meaning crooked, curved or wry mouth— "Cam Beul"—because of an actual physical characterstic. He had the habit of talking out of one side of his mouth. Legend has it that Dugald was so beloved by his family that they took his nickname as their family name.

In Gaelic, the chief of the Clan Campbell, one of the three largest clans in the Scottish Highlands, is known as "MacCailein Mór" meaning sion of Colin the Great or "Son (Mac) of Colin (Cailein) the Great (Mor)," for Sir Colin Campbell, Knight of Lochawe, who was killed in battle in 1294.

The name, then spelled Cambel, was first used by the family in the 13th century. The first chief of the clan to appear on record as "Campbell" may well have been Sir Duncan of Lochawe when he was created Lord Campbell in 1445. From the 13th century onwards the Campbell Lordship in Argyll was on freshwater Loch Awe, sometimes written Lochawe. (Loch Awe is pronounced with a soft "ch" in the word "loch" which means lake or arm of the sea in the Gaelic, and with the stress on the word Awe.) The current MacCailein Mor is Torquhil Ian Campbell, 13th Duke of Argyll (pron. ArGYLL) Inverary Castle in Argyllshire has been the homeland of the Campbells since the 1200s. (The county of Argyll is pronounced arGYLL, never ARGyll, the emphasis is on the second syllable, even for North American Campbells.) He married Eleanor Cadbury June 8, 2002. She became the Duchess of Argyll.

The Campbells are infamous in some parts of Scotland because of their feud with the McDonalds that saw some of its worst days during the Battle of Glencoe in 1692. That year on February 13th, in the darkness of early morning and in the midst of a snowstorm, many of the McDonalds were massacred by a company of the regiment raised by the Earl of Argyll and commanded by Captain Robert Campbell. It is this Campbell connection, and the fact that the McDonalds of Glencoe had, over many years, made a habit of visiting rape and pillage on their southern Campbell neighbours, which gave rise to the oversimplified account of an inter-clan blood-letting.^[1]

POPULARITY

Campbell was the 46th most common surname in the United States, according to data taken at the 1990 U.S. Census.

NAMESAKES

• Campbell University in Buies, NC (campbell.edu)
• Campbell's Soup
• Campbell, California

FAMOUS PERSONS

• Campbell Brown, CNN newscaster
• Colin Campbell, New York Rangers ice hockey team assistant coach
• Naomi Campbell, British model
• Campbell Scot, American actor

NOTES

OTHER CAMPBELL'S

Campbell Ainsworth, Campbell Albert, Campbell Ambrose, Campbell Amy, Campbell Ann, Campbell Arthur, Campbell Asberry, Campbell Ashley, Campbell Auer, Campbell Aurelius, Campbell Badger, Campbell Barb, Campbell Barbara, Campbell Barks, Campbell Adam, Campbell Adams, Campbell Adebowale, Campbell Agee, Campbell Akanbi, Campbell Alan, Campbell Albritton, Campbell Alefaio, Campbell Alexis, Campbell Alexzine, Campbell Alicia, Campbell Allison, Campbell Allport, Campbell Amos, Campbell Anderson, Campbell Andrews, Campbell Angela, Campbell Angie, Campbell Ansley, Campbell April, Campbell Arce, Campbell Art, Campbell Atkinson, Campbell Attkisson, Campbell Austin, Campbell Ayling, Campbell Bailey, Campbell Baird, Campbell Barbee, Campbell Baria, Campbell Barker, Campbell Barnds, Campbell Barnett, Campbell Barr, Campbell Amanda, Campbell Andersen, More results

Author: Kelly Campbell