Language & meaning
Meaning & Irish forms
Scottish & Gaelic Irish (merged) Mainly Scottish, from the Highland Clan Campbell, but in Ulster also an English form of the native Irish Mac Cathmhaoil.[1][2][3][4]
The name is built on the personal name Cathmhaol, usually explained as “battle-chief”. This applies only to Irish Campbells of Mac Cathmhaoil descent. The Scottish surname comes from a nickname, cam 'crooked' and béal 'mouth', not from a personal name.[3][4][2][1]
Pronunciation
Campbell: KAM-bul
Place
Where the Campbells lived
How common the name was in each county, as a share of the population, in the three surviving full censuses of Ireland. Use the buttons to compare years.
Share of each county's census population. 1926 covers the 26 counties of the Irish Free State only.
Highest concentration · 1901
Tyrone
96 per 10,000
1,446 Campbells · 3.01× the national share
Highest share, 1901
Per 10,000 residents. A concentration index above 1 means the name was commoner there than nationally.
Highest concentration · 1911
Tyrone
91 per 10,000
1,295 Campbells · 2.8× the national share
Highest share, 1911
Per 10,000 residents. A concentration index above 1 means the name was commoner there than nationally.
County figures as a table
| County | 1901 | 1911 | 1926 | Per 10k 1901 | Per 10k 1911 | Per 10k 1926 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antrim | 3,582 | 3,782 | — | 78 | 79 | — |
| Armagh | 902 | 927 | — | 72 | 78 | — |
| Carlow | 13 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| Cavan | 105 | 142 | 114 | 11 | 16 | 14 |
| Clare | 57 | 59 | 41 | 5 | 6 | 4 |
| Cork | 84 | 94 | 82 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Donegal | 1,171 | 1,139 | 916 | 68 | 68 | 60 |
| Down | 2,046 | 2,261 | — | 71 | 74 | — |
| Dublin | 824 | 858 | 944 | 19 | 18 | 19 |
| Fermanagh | 270 | 234 | — | 42 | 39 | — |
| Galway | 182 | 191 | 162 | 9 | 11 | 10 |
| Kerry | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kildare | 54 | 75 | 64 | 9 | 11 | 11 |
| Kilkenny | 36 | 22 | 18 | 5 | 3 | 3 |
| Laois | 13 | 14 | 20 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Leitrim | 186 | 168 | 148 | 27 | 27 | 26 |
| Limerick | 55 | 60 | 54 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Londonderry | 1,286 | 1,218 | — | 89 | 87 | — |
| Longford | 149 | 137 | 141 | 32 | 31 | 35 |
| Louth | 447 | 371 | 427 | 69 | 59 | 68 |
| Mayo | 425 | 438 | 433 | 22 | 23 | 25 |
| Meath | 103 | 88 | 70 | 15 | 14 | 11 |
| Monaghan | 306 | 277 | 197 | 41 | 39 | 30 |
| Offaly | 60 | 56 | 72 | 10 | 10 | 14 |
| Roscommon | 86 | 84 | 81 | 9 | 9 | 10 |
| Sligo | 36 | 46 | 24 | 5 | 6 | 3 |
| Tipperary | 29 | 25 | 26 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Tyrone | 1,446 | 1,295 | — | 96 | 91 | — |
| Waterford | 4 | 2 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Westmeath | 79 | 79 | 81 | 13 | 13 | 14 |
| Wexford | 10 | 16 | 17 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Wicklow | 61 | 58 | 65 | 10 | 10 | 11 |
Local strongholds in 1911
District Electoral Divisions (300+ residents) where Campbells made up the largest share of the population. In Eanymore, Co. Donegal, about one resident in 16 was a Campbell.
| DED | County | Campbells | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eanymore | Donegal | 82 | 6.2% |
| Meenagh | Tyrone | 81 | 5.7% |
| Seacash | Antrim | 47 | 5.6% |
| The Vow | Antrim | 57 | 5.1% |
| Ballymackney | Monaghan | 41 | 5.1% |
| Dirraw | Antrim | 58 | 5.0% |
| Dervaghroy | Tyrone | 39 | 5.0% |
| Tattymoyle | Tyrone | 28 | 5.0% |
Origins
Septs & territories
Many Irish surnames were adopted independently by unrelated families. These are the distinct Campbell lineages described in the sources.
A surname can point you towards a place. On its own, it cannot establish a pedigree.
Clan Campbell (Na Caimbeulaich)
Argyll, with an early lordship at Loch Awe
The Highland clan behind most Campbells. Its earliest recorded member is Gillespie, noted in 1263, and its chiefs later became Earls and then Dukes of Argyll. Woulfe and Wikipedia both link the family to the O'Duine (Ó Duibhne) name, though they explain the link differently.[10][2]
Mac Cathmhaoil of Cenél Fearadhaigh
Kinel Farry, now the barony of Clogher, with lands elsewhere in Tyrone and in Fermanagh · Tyrone, Fermanagh
A Tyrone family of the Cenél nEógain, claiming descent from Eoghan son of Niall of the Nine Hostages, who were chiefs around Clogher for centuries and supporters of the O'Neills. They were noted as churchmen and brehons, and Wikipedia credits them with six bishops and two archbishops. Campbell is one of the English forms that replaced their name.[3][4][11]
Mac Cathmhaoil of Co. Down
Co. Down · Down
Woulfe records a second family of the same name in Co. Down but gives no history. Wikipedia notes a large movement of the Tyrone sept into Down and Armagh by the end of the 16th century.[3][4]
Campbells of Tirconnell (Mac Ailín, Mac Cailín)
Tirconnell · Donegal
A branch of the Scottish Campbells whom the O'Donnells brought over as fighting men and who settled in Tirconnell. Woulfe dates their arrival to the 15th century in one entry and to about the middle of the 16th in another, and admits he could not tell which Irish form of their name was correct.[7][8]
The name over time
History
A nickname that became a surname
Campbell comes from two Gaelic words, cam, 'crooked' or 'wry', and béal, 'mouth'. Woulfe explains that it started as a personal nickname which, over time, pushed aside the family's real surname, and he rejects the idea, once popular, that it came from a Norman name such as de Campo Bello. Wikipedia gives the same derivation. In Scotland it is the name of one of the largest and most powerful Highland clans, which helps explain why it is so widespread wherever Scots settled.[2][1][10]
Clan Campbell of Argyll
The first Campbell on record is Gillespie, named in 1263. The family's link with Argyll came through marriage to the heiress of the O'Duines, which brought them the lordship of Loch Awe, and the clan was at first known as Clan O'Duine. Woulfe instead treats Ó Duibhne as the family's original surname in the male line. The chief Cailean Mór, Sir Colin Campbell, was killed by the MacDougalls in 1296, and every later chief has taken the Gaelic style MacCailean Mór. The chiefs rose to become Earls and then Dukes of Argyll.[10][5][2]
Scottish Campbells in Ulster
Wikipedia attributes the name's strength in Ulster to large-scale Scottish migration in the 17th and 18th centuries. Some Campbells came earlier and on different terms. Woulfe describes a branch of the Scottish clan, known in Irish as Mac Ailín or Mac Cailín, who were brought to Tirconnell by the O'Donnells to serve as fighting men and who stayed there. He gives two different dates for their arrival, the 15th century and the mid-16th, and their descendants may appear under forms such as MacAllen and MacCallion as well as Campbell.[1][7][8]
The Mac Cathmhaoil of Tyrone
Many Ulster Campbells have a wholly Irish origin. The Mac Cathmhaoil were the leading sept of Cenél Fearadhaigh, a branch of the Cenél nEógain, based around Clogher in Co. Tyrone. Wikipedia places the height of their power in the 12th century, when their influence reached deep into Fermanagh, until the rise of the Maguires broke it there by the mid-14th century. They were an important church family, supplying abbots, deans and bishops to the diocese of Clogher and beyond. By the 16th century Woulfe found the name in Connacht, Westmeath and Carlow too.[4][3][11]
How Mac Cathmhaoil became Campbell
Woulfe regretted how badly this old name had been disguised in English. Besides MacCawell, MacCaul and MacCall, he lists Howell, Caulfield and Campbell among its forms, and notes that a Wicklow branch took the name Caulfield. Wikipedia goes further, saying the Irish name is now rare in Ulster because so many families adopted Campbell, McCall or Caulfield. Its examples include a 1742 Armagh record of a Pat Campbell 'otherwise McCavill'. The poet Joseph Campbell made the link explicit by writing as Seosamh Mac Cathmhaoil, so an Ulster Campbell may be of Scottish or Irish descent.[3][4][6]
Places linked to the name
- Clogher (barony), Co. Tyrone — Corresponds to Kinel Farry, the patrimony of the Mac Cathmhaoil.[3][11]
- Clonmakate (Cluain Mhic Cathmhaoil), Co. Armagh — Townland near Maghery whose name, 'Mac Cathmhaoil's meadow', preserves the family name.[4]
- Tyrconnell (Tír Chonaill), Co. Donegal — Where the O'Donnells settled the Campbell fighting men known as Mac Ailín or Mac Cailín.[7][8]
- Loch Awe — In Argyll, Scotland; its lordship came to the Campbells by marriage and their early seat was on the loch.[10]
Everyday lives
The Campbells in the census
Who the Campbells were in the 1901 and 1911 censuses (and 1926 where recorded), set against everyone in Ireland in the same census.
Campbells All of Ireland Ireland's figure marked on the Campbell bar
Religion, 1911
Irish language
212 Campbells spoke Irish only in 1901.
Reading & writing
Family life, 1911
Commonest occupations
Adults aged 15+, 1901 and 1911 combined.
| Farmer | 2,261 |
| Farmer's son | 840 |
| Farmer's daughter | 489 |
| General labourer | 407 |
| Labourer | 340 |
| House keeper | 333 |
| Agricultural labourer | 330 |
| Farm servant | 292 |
| Seamstress | 273 |
| Farm labourer | 232 |
Born outside Ireland
6.6% of Campbells in 1911 gave a birthplace outside Ireland.
| England | 563 |
| Scotland | 298 |
| United States | 42 |
| India | 10 |
| Australia & NZ | 4 |
| Wales | 3 |
Median age: 24 in 1901, 25 in 1911.
Given names
First names among the Campbells
Men and boys
- John1,970
- James1,636
- William1,100
- Patrick1,018
- Thomas961
- Robert561
- Joseph468
- Michael458
- Hugh350
- Samuel322
Women and girls
- Mary1,985
- Margaret782
- Annie669
- Sarah643
- Elizabeth594
- Bridget588
- Catherine532
- Maggie518
- Jane509
- Ellen462
All three censuses combined. Top five in 1926: John, Patrick, James, Thomas, Michael; Mary, Margaret, Bridget, Annie, Elizabeth.
Spellings
Spellings
This page combines the spellings below, which census enumerators and families used for the same name.
| Spelling | 1901 | 1911 | 1926 | Records |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Campbell | 14,110 | 14,231 | 4,222 | Search |
Related forms
- Cambell — An older spelling recorded by Woulfe.[2]
- MacCawell, MacCaul, McCaul, MacCall — Other English forms of Mac Cathmhaoil, a separate Irish name that Campbell sometimes replaced.[3][4]
- Caulfield — Adopted by a branch of the Tyrone Mac Cathmhaoil who settled in Co. Wicklow.[3]
- MacAllen, MacCallion — Forms of Mac Ailín and Mac Cailín, names used by Campbells settled in Tirconnell.[7][8]
- Seosamh Mac Cathmhaoil — The Irish name used by the poet Joseph Campbell, treating Campbell as the English form of Mac Cathmhaoil.[6]
Diaspora
The Campbells abroad
Emigration carried the name worldwide. In the 2010 United States census:
| Spelling | People | US rank |
|---|---|---|
| Campbell | 386,157 | 47th |
Source: US Census Bureau, 2010 surname file (public domain).
Heraldry
Is there a Campbell coat of arms?
There is no single Campbell coat of arms. Burke's General Armory lists a long run of separate Campbell families, nearly all Scottish, most bearing variations on a shield gyronny of eight (divided into eight wedges). For the Duke of Argyll, chief of the clan, Burke gives gold and black gyronny quartered with the black galley of Lorne, a boar's head crest and the motto 'Ne obliviscaris' ('Do not forget'). Burke also records an Irish Campbell baronetcy using the same motto; each set of arms belongs to a particular family.[12]
Websites selling a single “Campbell family crest” are selling a design, not an inheritance. Arms in Ireland belonged to individuals and their heirs, and the Chief Herald of Ireland still grants arms that way today.
People
Notable people named Campbell
- Cailean Mór (Sir Colin Campbell) (died after 1296) Early Campbell chief and ancestor figure of the Earls of Argyll, killed by the MacDougalls.
- Thomas Campbell (1763–1854) Co. Down-born Presbyterian minister who began a religious reform movement on the American frontier.
- Alexander Campbell (1788–1866) Antrim-born minister who led the American Restoration Movement with his father Thomas.
- James Campbell, 1st Baron Glenavy (1851–1931) Lawyer and politician who served as Lord Chancellor of Ireland and later sat in the Oireachtas.
- Joseph Campbell (1879–1944) Belfast poet who wrote as Seosamh Mac Cathmhaoil; lyricist of 'My Lagan Love'.
- Joseph Campbell (1904–1987) Irish-American writer on comparative mythology, author of The Hero with a Thousand Faces.
- Patrick Campbell, 3rd Baron Glenavy (1913–1980) Anglo-Irish journalist, humorist and television personality.
- George Campbell (1917–1979) Irish artist and writer who grew up in Belfast and painted in Spain and Dublin.
- Billy Campbell (1944–2026) Northern Ireland international winger and later player-manager of Linfield.
- Gregory Campbell (born 1953) DUP politician, MP for East Londonderry since 2001.
- Bobby Campbell (1956–2016) Northern Ireland international centre forward.
- Vivian Campbell (born 1962) Northern Irish rock guitarist with Dio and, since 1992, Def Leppard.
Questions
Questions about the Campbell name
Is Campbell an Irish surname?
Usually it is Scottish in origin, the name of the Highland Clan Campbell, brought to Ulster mostly by Scottish settlers in the 17th and 18th centuries. But not always: in mid-Ulster, Campbell was also adopted as the English form of the native Irish Mac Cathmhaoil of Tyrone, so some Irish Campbells have entirely Gaelic Irish ancestry.[1][3][4]
Is Campbell Irish or Scottish?
Both, depending on the family. The name itself is Scottish Gaelic and belongs to the Argyll clan. In Ireland it can mark a Scottish settler family, a branch of Campbells brought to Donegal by the O'Donnells as fighting men, or an Irish Mac Cathmhaoil family whose name was anglicised as Campbell. Family records from before 1800 are the only way to tell which.[1][7][3]
What is Campbell in Irish?
Woulfe gives Caimbéal for the Scottish name; in Scottish Gaelic it is Caimbeul. For Irish families of Tyrone origin the Irish name is Mac Cathmhaoil, the form used by the Belfast poet Joseph Campbell, who wrote as Seosamh Mac Cathmhaoil.[2][5][3][6]
What does the name Campbell mean?
It comes from Gaelic cam, 'crooked', and béal, 'mouth', and so means 'wry-mouthed' or 'crooked mouth'. Woulfe explains that this was a nickname which eventually displaced the family's original surname, and he dismisses the old theory of a Norman origin. The Irish name Mac Cathmhaoil, sometimes anglicised Campbell, means 'son of Cathmhaol', or battle-chief.[2][1][3]
Are Campbell and McCaul the same name?
Sometimes. McCaul, MacCawell and McCall are English forms of the Irish Mac Cathmhaoil, and Campbell was widely used for the same name in Ulster, so families of that origin may be recorded under any of these spellings. Most Campbells, though, are of Scottish descent and have no connection with Mac Cathmhaoil.[3][4][1]
Is there a Campbell family crest or coat of arms?
Not one for everyone named Campbell. Burke's General Armory records many separate Campbell coats of arms, mostly variations of a gyronny shield of eight wedges. The best known belong to the Duke of Argyll, chief of the clan, with a boar's head crest. They belong to the chief's line, not to every bearer of the name.[12]
What is the Campbell clan motto?
Burke gives 'Ne obliviscaris', Latin for 'Do not forget', over the boar's head crest of the Duke of Argyll, and the same motto for an Irish Campbell baronetcy. It is the motto of the chief's arms rather than something every Campbell family used.[12]
Where in Ireland is the Campbell surname most common?
In the 1911 census the largest numbers of Campbells lived in Antrim (3,782), Down (2,261), Tyrone (1,295). Relative to population, the name was most concentrated in Tyrone (91 per 10,000), Londonderry (87 per 10,000), Antrim (79 per 10,000).
How common was the Campbell surname in Ireland?
14,231 people were recorded as Campbell in the 1911 census of Ireland, making it the 28th most common surname. That is roughly 0.3% of the population, or 1 person in 309.
Looking for a Campbell ancestor?
Search every Campbell household in the 1901, 1911 and 1926 censuses, with free images of the original forms.
Evidence
Sources
- Wikipedia, Campbell (surname) (2026)
- Patrick Woulfe, Caimbéal, in Irish Names and Surnames (1923)
- Patrick Woulfe, Mac Cathmhaoil, in Irish Names and Surnames (1923)
- Wikipedia, McCaul (2026)
- Wikipedia, Cailean Mór (2026)
- Wikipedia, Joseph Campbell (poet) (2026)
- Patrick Woulfe, Mac Ailín, in Irish Names and Surnames (1923)
- Patrick Woulfe, Mac Cailín, in Irish Names and Surnames (1923)
- Patrick Woulfe, Mac Callanáin, in Irish Names and Surnames (1923)
- Wikipedia, Clan Campbell (2026)
- Wikipedia, Clogher (barony) (2026)
- Sir Bernard Burke, The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales (1884). Entries 'Campbell (Lochow)', 'Campbell (Duke of Argyll)' and the Irish Campbell baronet.
- Census of Ireland 1901 and 1911, and Census of Population 1926, National Archives of Ireland. Counts compiled by surnames.ie from the irishcensus.com transcription (dataset 20260831130351). 1926 data © National Archives of Ireland, CC BY 4.0.
- Irish forms cross-checked against Gaois surname data (Fiontar & Scoil na Gaeilge, DCU).
How we compile these figures: methodology.