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Summary
- No one named Camden appears in the Bible, and the name has no Hebrew, Aramaic or Greek meaning.
- Camden is an English surname usually traced to Campden in Gloucestershire, recorded in 1086 as Campedene.
- The place-name joins Old English camp, “enclosure,” and denu, “valley”; the meaning “winding valley” has no support in name references.
- The historian William Camden (1551–1623) made the surname famous; Camden Town and Camden, New Jersey, are named after Charles Pratt, Earl Camden.
- As an American boys’ name Camden first ranked in 1990 and peaked at 99th in 2013.
Bibliography (Click to show)
- Behind the Name, “Camden,” with United States popularity figures from Social Security Administration data. https://www.behindthename.com/name/camden
- The Internet Surname Database, “Camden.” https://surnamedb.com/Surname/camden
- “Chipping Campden,” Wikipedia, on the element Chipping. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chipping_Campden
- “William Camden,” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Camden
- William Camden, Remains Concerning Britain (London: John Russell Smith, 1870 edition), chapters “Christian Names” and “Usual Christian Names.” https://archive.org/details/remainsconcernin00camd
- “Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden,” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Pratt,_1st_Earl_Camden
- “Camden Town,” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camden_Town
- “Camden, New Jersey,” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camden,_New_Jersey
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2158, with its references to Isaiah 43:1 and John 10:3. https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P7K.HTM
- Scripture quotations: Isaiah 43:1; John 10:3, English Standard Version.
