(male) Probably the most successful of all the Old French names of Germanic origin that were introduced to England by the Normans. It is derived from Germanic wil ‘will, desire’ + helm ‘helmet, protection’. The fact that it was borne by the Conqueror himself does not seem to have inhibited its favour with the ‘conquered’ population: in the first century after the Conquest it was the commonest male name of all, and not only among the Normans. In the later Middle Ages it was overtaken by John, but continued to run second to that name until the 20th century, when the picture became more fragmented.
Short forms: Will, Bill.
Pet forms: Willy, Willie, Billy.
Cognates: Irish: Uilliam. Scottish Gaelic: Uilleam. Welsh: Gwilym. German: Wilhelm. Dutch: Willem. Scandinavian: Vilhelm. French: Guillaume. Spanish: Guilermo. Catalan: Guillem. Portuguese: Guilherme. Italian: Guglielmo. Czech: Vilém. Slovenian: Viljem. Hungarian: Vilmos. Lithuanian: Vilhelmas. Latvian: Vilhelms.
Scottish: nickname from Gaelic cam ‘crooked’, ‘bent’ + beul ‘mouth’. The surname was often represented in Latin documents as de bello campo ‘of the fair field’, which led to the name sometimes being ‘translated’ into Anglo-Norman French as Beauchamp.
In New England documents, Campbell sometimes occurs as a representation of the French name Hamel.
FOREBEARS The founder of the clan Campbell (and the bearer of the nickname) was Gillespie Ó Duibhne, who lived at the beginning of the 13th century. He married Eva Ó Duibhne, heiress of Lochow, and from them descended a long line of Lairds of Lochow and immensely powerful Scottish aristocrats, including the dukes of Argyll. For centuries they wielded enormous power in Scotland. As with many Highland Scottish clan names, the surname was adopted not merely by descendants but also retainers of the original clan founders. John Campbell (1653–1727/8), born in Scotland, was postmaster general of Boston and published the Boston News-Letter (1704–22), the first continuously published newspaper in America.
