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Camus Surname Meaning & Origin

What the Camus last name means, where the surname began and how it spread.

Order your pack and our heraldry team researches and paints the Camus coat of arms for you.

Meaning and origin of the Camus last name

Meaning of the Camus last name: snub-nosed. Camus is a French surname from camus, "snub-nosed", a nickname for someone with a short flat nose. It is found in northern France and in Spain as well. Writer Albert Camus, Nobel laureate in 1957, made this last name known around the world.

Arms associated with the Camus name

French heraldry loved the fleur-de-lis, the lion and bold bands of colour, and coats of arms associated with the Camus surname grew in that tradition; even the words of a blazon come from Old French.

Get your full Camus family history

This is only a glimpse of the Camus story. The full Camus history report goes much deeper into where the name began, who carried it and how the family spread, and it comes with a museum-style painted Camus coat of arms. Get the full Camus report.

Camus name FAQ

What does the Camus name mean?

Snub-nosed. Common variants include Camu, Lecamus.

Where does the Camus surname come from?

It originates in France, and is also found in Canada, Belgium and Switzerland.

Is there a Camus coat of arms?

Arms were granted to individuals rather than to everyone with a surname. Herald Lab paints a personalized Camus coat of arms in museum style, based on historic heraldry.

Sources: Albert Dauzat, Dictionnaire étymologique des noms de famille et prénoms de France (Larousse); Marie-Thérèse Morlet, Dictionnaire étymologique des noms de famille (Perrin, 1991).