Burrus
A name of Germanic origin meaning "dweller by the tanned hide".
Name Census estimates that about 0 living Americans carry the first name Burrus. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Burrus today is around 0 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Burrus births was 1921 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Burrus. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Burrus. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
0
~ - Americans
Peak year
1921
5 babies that year
Average age
-
1921 SSA rank
#4,420
Tracked since 1921
Popularity
Burrus: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Burrus 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 Burrus during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1920s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Burrus
The name Burrus is of Latin origin, derived from the word "burrus," which means "red-haired" or "auburn-haired." This name was commonly used in ancient Rome, particularly during the Roman Empire, and was often given to individuals with reddish or auburn hair.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Burrus can be found in the ancient Roman historian Tacitus' work, "Annals," where he mentions a prominent Roman official named Afranius Burrus. Burrus served as the Praetorian prefect, or commander of the Praetorian Guard, during the reign of Emperor Nero in the 1st century AD.
Another notable figure with the name Burrus was Saint Burrus, a 6th-century Christian martyr from Lérins Abbey in France. He was allegedly killed by invading barbarians during the turbulent period following the fall of the Western Roman Empire.
In the Middle Ages, the name Burrus was less common but still appeared occasionally in various European regions. One example is Burrus of Bamberg, a 12th-century German monk and chronicler who wrote a history of the Bishopric of Bamberg.
During the Renaissance period, the humanist scholar and philosopher Desiderius Erasmus mentioned a friend named Burrus in his correspondence. This Burrus was likely a contemporary of Erasmus in the 15th or 16th century.
In more recent history, there have been a few notable individuals with the first name Burrus. Burrus Frederic Skinner (1904-1990) was an American psychologist and author, best known for his work on operant conditioning and the development of the Skinner box.
Another 20th-century figure was Burrus Carnahan (1897-1984), an American lawyer and politician who served as the 33rd Lieutenant Governor of Missouri from 1961 to 1965.
Despite its relative rarity in modern times, the name Burrus has a rich history rooted in ancient Rome and the Latin language, with a meaning connected to a distinctive physical trait. Throughout the centuries, it has been borne by individuals from various walks of life, including officials, religious figures, scholars, and public servants.
People
Burrus + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Burrus 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
Burrus: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Burrus?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 0 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Burrus 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 - US residents.
Is Burrus a common name?
We classify Burrus as "Very Rare". It ranks above 2.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Burrus most popular?
The single biggest year for Burrus was 1921, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Burrus is about 0 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Burrus in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Burrus a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Burrus 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 Burrus still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Burrus 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 Burrus 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people share the name Burrus?
Find out how many people have the name Burrus on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.