Campbell Medieval Shield

The family name of "Campbell" is considered to be primarily a Scottish and Gaelic origins, although a small number of geneolocical branches have origins from the Anglicans of various Irish and Gaelic names.

In Scotland, the name owes it's origins to the two Scottish / Gaelic words. "Cam" and "Béal" meaning "Crooked mouth" or "wry-mouthed". this nickname eventually became the surname Campbell.

A common Irish derivative is from the surname Mac Cathmhaoil. Descendants of a war-leader named Cathmhaoil took the surname, and was often pronounced as "Cammle". This coincidentally was the same pronunciation as the Scottish surname "Campbell". From this Irish surname, a number of derivations were arrived including MacCawill, McCaul, MacCall, Caulfield, and of course Campbell.

Campbell is the 47th-most common surname in the United Kingdom. Within the United States, it is ranked as the 46th-most common surname.