Burwell
A masculine name possibly derived from an English place name.
Name Census estimates that about 32 living Americans carry the first name Burwell. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Burwell today is around 82 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Burwell births was 1918 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Burwell. 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 Burwell is about 82 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Burwells were born before 1954.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Burwell. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
32
~ 1 in 10,711,073 Americans
Peak year
1918
14 babies that year
Average age
82
years old
1958 SSA rank
#3,586
Tracked since 1913
Popularity
Burwell: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Burwell from the 1910s through to the 1950s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 48 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1910s peak, Burwell remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Burwell 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 Burwell during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Burwells live
Origin
Meaning and history of Burwell
The name Burwell has its origins in Old English, dating back to the Anglo-Saxon period in Britain. It is a habitational name derived from the place name "Burwell," which is thought to have meant "the fortified well" or "the spring with a rampart around it." The name is composed of two elements: "burh," meaning a fortified place or a town, and "well," referring to a spring or a stream.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Burwell can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of land and property in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The Domesday Book mentions several places called Burwell, including villages in Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Burwell. One of the earliest was Sir Burwell de Wtenho (born around 1280), a medieval English knight who fought in the Wars of Scottish Independence alongside King Edward I. Another early bearer of the name was Burwell Massingberd (c. 1310-1372), a prominent landowner in Lincolnshire during the 14th century.
In the 16th century, Burwell St. Leger (c. 1520-1589) was a significant figure in the English Reformation. He was a staunch Protestant and a member of the Privy Council under Queen Elizabeth I. Another notable Burwell from this period was Burwell Bamfield (c. 1550-1623), an English merchant and adventurer who was involved in several voyages of exploration and trade.
During the 17th century, Burwell Massingberd (1632-1705) was a prominent member of the English gentry and a supporter of the Parliamentarian cause during the English Civil War. He later served as a member of Parliament and was knighted by King William III.
In more recent times, Burwell Brander Matthews (1892-1975) was an American writer, educator, and literary critic who served as a professor at Columbia University. He was a respected authority on the works of Shakespeare and other English authors.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Burwell. While the name has its roots in Old English and the Anglo-Saxon period, it has persisted and been carried by notable figures across various fields and eras.
People
Burwell + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Burwell 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
Burwell: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Burwell?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 32 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Burwell 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 10,711,073 US residents.
Is Burwell a common name?
We classify Burwell as "Very Rare". It ranks above 47.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 167 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Burwell most popular?
The single biggest year for Burwell was 1918, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Burwell is about 82 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 Burwell in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Burwell a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Burwell 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 Burwell still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Burwell 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 Burwell 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 Burwell?
You can see how many people share the name Burwell on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.