Kemper

German and Dutch surname
"serf; hemp farmer; person from Kempen"

Kemper Origin and Meaning

The name Kemper is a boy's name meaning "serf; hemp farmer; person from Kempen".

As a given name, Kemper is a rare gender-neutral choice, given to fewer than 50 American babies at last count. It's much more familiar as a surname, as in that of Ellie Kemper, an actor from The Office and The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.

The German form of Kemper designated a peasant farmer, while the Dutch referenced someone who worked with hemp. Kemper may have also been used as a surname for people from one of the German-Dutch towns called Kempen.