The Kemper surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 10,518 people carried this name — #3,401 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 28,000 people counted. That is up 2% from 10,339 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Kemper surname

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as an occupational name: ‘the kember’.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 443 · public domain.

In Argentina’s national register

At least 110 people named Kemper live in Argentina.

RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Buenos Aires Province 65
City of Buenos Aires 33
Chaco 12

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

69 people named Kemper live in Switzerland.

They live in 7 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Zurich 24
Aargau 20
Vaud 8
Basel-Stadt 5
Schwyz 5
Graubünden 4
Geneva 3

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 23 people named Kemper.

9 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 6 départements, most often Meurthe-et-Moselle.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born

Born outside France 9
Meurthe-et-Moselle 7
Aube 2
Pas-de-Calais 2
Haut-Rhin 1
Paris 1

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In national population registers

69 people named Kemper are counted in Sweden and Slovenia.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Slovenia counts its residents on 1 January 2026.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 37
Slovenia (2026) 32

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown) · source: Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia (SURS), SiStat tables 05X1015S–05X1018S, family names of the population, 1 January 2026 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).

In print

Kemper in American newspapers,
1879–1902.

Newspaper page from Bristol News carrying the name Kemper
Bristol News 1879-10-21
Newspaper page from The Telegraph-courier carrying the name Kemper
The Telegraph-courier 1895-06-20
Newspaper page from The Telegraph-courier carrying the name Kemper
The Telegraph-courier 1902-04-24

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain.

In print

Kemper in Australian newspapers,
1860s–1970s.

219 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Kemper. The most, 60, date from the 1910s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Western Australia, at 3.4 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Western Australia 63
New South Wales 46
Victoria 39
South Australia 38
Queensland 18
ACT (Canberra) 9
Tasmania 4

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Kemper.

Who carried it

People named Kemper,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Jackson Kemper
    Jackson Kemper 1789–1870 · bishop
  • Johan Kemper 1670–1716 · translator
  • Hendrik Kemper 1688–1701 · bell founder
  • Samuel Kemper 1701–1814
  • James Kemper 1753–1834
  • Johann Wilhelm Kemper 1766–1840 · restaurateur

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Kemper,
in the records of 7 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States1,208 records

1,208 records of the Kemper name in the United States
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 435
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 368
  • Other U.S. records 405
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Alfred A. Kemper

    Born 1922 in West Virginia. Enlisted 1940 at Fort Thomas Newport, Kentucky; bakery worker. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1997, buried at the Brooklyn Heights Cemetery, Cleveland, Ohio.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Mihaly Kemper

    Arrived at New York in 1904 aboard the Patricia from Cuxhaven, aged 21; carpenter. From Ratm, Russia; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record John Richard Kemper

    Born 1949; from Carroll, Ohio. U.S. Army, infantryman; died of wounds 1968 in Thua Thien, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)

Showing 3 of 1,208 records for Kemper in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · Ramsey County, Minnesota (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain).

Netherlands8,050 records

8,050 records of the Kemper name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 4,783
  • Dutch population registers 2,968
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 299
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Johannes Kemper

    Married in 1899 in Veendam; commission agent. Died 1910 in Ommelanderwijk gem Veendam, aged 38.

    Open Archives, Groninger Archieven (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Anno Kemper

    Married in 1927 in Emmen; labourer. Died 1969 in Emmen, aged 63.

    Open Archives, Drents Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Johannes Wilhelmus Hendricus Kemper

    Married in 1926 in Amsterdam; bookbinder. Died 1972 in Noordoostpolder, aged 75.

    Open Archives, Noord-Hollands Archief (CC BY 4.0); Open Archives, Het Flevolands Archief (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 8,050 records for Kemper in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Germany855 records

855 records of the Kemper name in Germany Germany's First World War casualty lists, 1914–1919
  1. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Eugen Kemper

    Born 1898; from Münster i. W. Reported missing in the Prussian casualty list of 12 June 1918; then reported taken prisoner in the list of 29 October 1918; then reported missing in the list of 3 December 1918 (Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 202).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)
  2. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Josef Kemper

    Born 1885; from Rösenbeck. Reported taken prisoner in the Prussian casualty list of 3 January 1917.

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)
  3. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Theodor Kemper

    From Koesfeld i. W. Reported wounded in the Prussian casualty list of 18 August 1916 (Field Artillery Regiment No. 183).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)

Showing 3 of 855 records for Kemper in Germany.

Counts: Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Deutsche Verlustlisten, Prussian list 1116, 18 April 1918 (scan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0).

France7 records

7 records of the Kemper name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Gaston Alexis Kemper

    Born 1893 in Maidières; died 1979 in Nancy (Meurthe-et-Moselle).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Friedlene Kemper

    Born 1921 in Germany; died 1993 in Albertville (Savoie).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  3. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Hugo Paul Gustave Kemper

    Born 1906 in Calais (Pas-de-Calais); died 1987 in Vaux-le-Pénil (Seine-et-Marne).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 3 of 7 records for Kemper in France.

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Australia5 records

5 records of the Kemper name in Australia Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Sarah Kemper

    Arrived in Victoria in 1854 aboard the Daylesford, aged 24; British subject.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record C. J. E. Kemper

    Sailed from Victoria in 1854 aboard the United, aged 13.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record C. J. Kemper

    Sailed from Victoria in 1854 aboard the United, aged 48.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 5 records for Kemper in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Canada3 records

3 records of the Kemper name in Canada
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 2
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Joseph Kemper

    Died 1914; buried at Brookside Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.
  2. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record Frederick August John Kemper

    Died in service in 1944.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Martha Kemper

    Died 1969; buried at Brookside Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.

Counts: City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

Norway1 record

1 record of the Kemper name in Norway Norway's 1910 census
  1. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Census record Regina Therese Kemper

    Census of 1910: Ridehusgaten, Fredrikstad; born 1873 in Liesborn Tyskland.

    Arkivverket, Digitalarkivet, 1910 census (CC BY 3.0 NO)

Counts: Arkivverket, Digitalarkivet, 1910 census (CC BY 3.0 NO). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Kemper.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Kemper is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the Kemper volume
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