Unusual pronunciation of Campbell

[Adam Elliott]

Has anyone else ever run across the variant pronunciation of Campbell, Camel? I suspect it comes from the east coast of Scotland near Perth, but do not know they why's or wherefores. Does anyone know the origin of this variant pronunciation.

Thanks,
Adam

[MacSpadger]

I am born and raised on the East Coast of Scotland and have never heard of Camel as a variant of Campbell, nor have I heard of this surname in Scotland. I first heard of Camel as a surname when I was down in the South West of England and heard of it there. Spellings include Camel, Cammell, Camell, Kamel, Kamell, Kamall, Kemell, Kemwal, etc.
You might find this link interesting.

[Chas]

Just north of me is Kings Lynn. For many years Campbell's had a very large factory there. If you ever rang them a young Scottish lady would answer with "Good Morning, camPELLS - How can I help you?

What this means, I have no idea, but she was well known for it.

Regards

Chas

[Skiballa]

My grandmother was very precise in her pronunciation, it was camp-BELL, with a very plosive "P" ending the "camp", and stressing "bell". She may have felt the need to stress the difference, as she married a Kimball, and didn't want confusion.