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From what I have read the CHAMBERLAIN surname is derived from the Old French word "chambrelain" or "chamberlayne" and is found spelled many different ways, including Chamberland, Chambellan, Chambelland, Chambran, Chambrelan, Chambrellan, Chambreslan, Champerlan, Champrelan, and Champrelent, as well as other variations. The Normans are usually credited with bringing the name to Britain where the Anglicized version is typically spelled "Chamberlain" or "Chamberlin" as well as the shortened version "Chambers."
Like many surnames, this appears to have been adopted from a person's occupation. In a castle a chamberlain was an important trusted official who looked after the private chambers of a high-ranking person, such as a king or nobleman. Wikipedia gives a slightly broader definition of a chamberlain as "an officer in charge of managing the household of a sovereign or other noble figure."
The Chamberlain Society has some info that may be helpful on the British emigrants:
http://www.chamberlain-society.org/Genealogy.php
In addition to the "Chamberlain/Chamberlin" families who came from Britain, there was a Simon "Chamberland", who immigrated to Quebec, Canada, from France about 1664, and many of his descendants moved into the U.S., including some whose spelling of their last name was changed to the more Anglicized "Chamberlain/lin".
A bit more on the origin can be found at these links:
http://freepages.family.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~crrking/Chambers/chambers_origin.htm
http://www.chamberlandfamily.com/
Good luck with the project!
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