Burl
A diminutive of the English surname Burwell.
Name Census estimates that about 2,327 living Americans carry the first name Burl. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Burl today is around 70 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Burl births was 1921 (211 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Burl. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Burl is about 70 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Burls were born before 1966.
People living today
2.3K
~ 1 in 147,295 Americans
Peak year
1921
211 babies that year
Average age
70
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,125
Tracked since 1880
Gender
Gender distribution for Burl
Out of the 7,199 babies given the name Burl since 1880, 99.7% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Burl as a male name
- Ranked #11,118 in 2024
- 6 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1921 (211 births)
Burl as a female name
- Ranked #4,125 in 1929
- 6 female births in 1929
- Peak: 1928 (8 births)
Popularity
Burl: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Burl from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 1,675 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Burl by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Burl during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Burls live
The SSA's state-level files cover 21 states and territories. Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas recorded the most babies named Burl, while Florida, Kansas, Louisiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 191 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Burl
The name Burl is believed to have originated from the Old English word "byrel," which means a small ring or hoop. It was initially used as a descriptive term for people who worked with rings or hoops, possibly referring to coopers or makers of wooden barrels and casks.
In the early Middle Ages, the name began to appear in various written records across England and parts of Normandy, where Old English and Norman French influences converged. It was often spelled as "Byrl," "Byrle," or "Burle" in these early documents.
One of the earliest documented instances of the name Burl can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of land ownership and taxation in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The record mentions a landowner named "Burle" in the county of Gloucestershire.
During the 12th and 13th centuries, the name gained popularity among English and Norman families, possibly due to its association with skilled craftsmen or tradesmen. It was sometimes used as a surname, but it also became a given name in its own right.
Among the notable historical figures who bore the name Burl was Burl de Marlborough, a 13th-century English nobleman and landowner who served as a sheriff and military commander under King Henry III. He was born around 1210 and played a significant role in the Second Barons' War against the king.
Another prominent bearer of the name was Burl Ives (1909-1995), an American actor, writer, and folk singer. Born Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives in Illinois, he achieved widespread fame for his distinctive voice and performances in films like "The Big Country" and "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof."
In the literary world, Burl Hines (1942-1969) was an American writer and poet known for his raw and honest depictions of rural Southern life. His collection of short stories, "The Wendell Family Stories," published posthumously in 1972, received critical acclaim.
Burl Toler (1930-2009) was a pioneering African American football player and coach. He was one of the first Black officials in the National Football League and served as the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers in 1976, becoming the first Black head coach in the NFL.
Burl Cain (born 1942) is a former warden of the Louisiana State Penitentiary, also known as Angola Prison. He gained recognition for his innovative approach to prison reform, emphasizing rehabilitation and education programs for inmates during his tenure from 1995 to 2016.
People
Burl + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Burl as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with B
Other first names starting with B with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Burl: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Burl?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,327 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Burl going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 147,295 US residents.
Is Burl a common name?
We classify Burl as "Rare". It ranks above 94.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 7,199 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Burl most popular?
The single biggest year for Burl was 1921, when 211 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Burl is about 70 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Burl a male name?
Yes, 99.7% of people registered as Burl in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.