Burrell
A name tracing to French origins signifying "little fort" or "fortress".
Name Census estimates that about 464 living Americans carry the first name Burrell. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Burrell today is around 69 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Burrell births was 1919 (38 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Burrell. 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 Burrell is about 69 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Burrells were born before 1967.
People living today
464
~ 1 in 738,695 Americans
Peak year
1919
38 babies that year
Average age
69
years old
2001 SSA rank
#9,424
Tracked since 1881
Census
Burrell in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 497 people with the first name Burrell, which placed it at #20,692 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#20,692
National first-name rank
People counted
497
497 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
56.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Burrell
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Burrell is White at 56.7%. The next largest groups are Black (39.4%) and Two or More Races (2.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Burrell described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Burrell at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White56.7% · 282
- Black or African American39.4% · 196
- Two or more races2.6% · 13
- Hispanic or Latino0.6% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 3
Popularity
Burrell: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Burrell from the 1880s through to the 2000s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 301 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
Burrell 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 Burrell during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Burrells live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. Texas, Georgia, Illinois recorded the most babies named Burrell, while Virginia, Mississippi, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 8 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Burrell
The given name Burrell originated from the Old English language and has its roots in the Anglo-Saxon culture. It is believed to have derived from the Old English word "burh," which means a fortified place or a hill, combined with the suffix "-rël," signifying a rule or dominion. This combination suggests that the name may have initially been used to refer to someone who governed or oversaw a fortified settlement or a hill-top estate.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Burrell can be traced back to the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of land and property commissioned by William the Conqueror after the Norman conquest of England. The name appears in various spellings, such as "Burrellus" and "Burhyll," indicating its long-standing usage in English history.
In the 12th century, a notable figure named Burrell de Burneby was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire, which were records of financial transactions and tax payments made to the English Crown. This historical reference suggests that individuals bearing the name Burrell held positions of prominence or wealth during the medieval period.
Throughout the centuries, several prominent individuals have carried the name Burrell. One of the most notable figures was Sir William Burrell (1861-1958), a Scottish shipping magnate and art collector whose extensive collection of artwork and antiquities formed the basis for the Burrell Collection in Glasgow, Scotland.
Another noteworthy individual was Sir Redvers Buller (1839-1908), a British Army officer who served in various campaigns during the Victorian era, including the Anglo-Zulu War and the Second Boer War. Despite his military achievements, he was also known for his controversial tactics and the infamous Spion Kop incident during the Boer War.
In the realm of literature, Guy Burrell (1914-2002) was a British author and poet who gained recognition for his works exploring themes of nature and rural life. His poetry collections, such as "The Unspoken Word" and "The Ploughman's Glory," celebrated the beauty of the English countryside.
The name Burrell has also been associated with sports figures, including Burrell Ellis (1923-2019), an American college basketball player and coach who led several successful teams at Duquesne University in the 1950s and 1960s.
It is important to note that while the name Burrell has a rich historical background, its usage and popularity have varied across different regions and time periods. The examples provided here represent a small selection of the individuals who have carried this name throughout history, reflecting its enduring presence and cultural significance.
People
Burrell + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Burrell 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
Burrell: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Burrell?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 464 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Burrell 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 738,695 US residents.
Is Burrell a common name?
We classify Burrell as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,475 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Burrell most popular?
The single biggest year for Burrell was 1919, when 38 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Burrell is about 69 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Burrell in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 497 people with the name Burrell, or 0.16 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #20,692 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Burrell in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Burrell?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Burrell leans strongly male. 481 people counted with this name were male (96.4%), compared with 18 female bearers (3.6%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Burrell?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Burrell is White at 56.7%. The next largest groups are Black (39.4%) and Two or More Races (2.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Burrell most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Burrell in the 2020 Census, accounting for 56.7% (282 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Burrell in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Burrell a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Burrell 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.
Is Burrell still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Burrell in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Burrell can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How many people are called Burrell?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.