This most interesting and unusual name is a dialectal variant of "Campsie", which is a Scottish name of locational origin, from the old lands of Campsie in the parish of the same name in Stirlingshire. The placename itself is probably composed of either the old English word "camp" and old French word "champ", both meaning enclosed field, or the Gaelic word "camus", bay or creek, plus the old English "-ieg" or "-eg", or the old Scandinavian element "-ey", all of which mean island or land surrounded by two streams. The surname itself first appears in the mid 14th Century (see below) in Scotland. One Finlay de Campsy or Camsi, son of Robert de Campsy witnessed several charters by Malcolm and Donald, Earls of Lennox, during the 14th Century. One Ione Campsy was a burgess of Inverness in 1449 and Alexander Campsy was declared innocent of having any part in the detention of King James 111 in Edinburgh Castle in 1482. In London at St. Margaret's, Westminster, Willyam Camsey married Jeane Bruse on February 4th 1618. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Robert de Campsy, which was dated 1350, "Cartularium Comitatus de Levanax 1398", during the reign of King David 11, of Scotland, 1329 - 1371. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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