Origin of the Camus Surname

Camus is a Basque surname said to have originated in Bermeo, a seaport town near Bilbao and Genika, Bizkaia.

In 1600, Pedro de Camus sailed from Santander to Peru, and then to Chile in 1617, and settled in Concepción, where he served as corregidor (magistrate).

Ventura de Camus, of the same house as Pedro, sailed to Buenos Aires and later to Santiago, Chile, where he became mayor in 1719.

The house of Camús in France (spelled with an accent) is a separate house, probably unrelated to the Basque Camus.