Burdock last name popularity, history, and meaning

Find out how popular the last name Burdock is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Burdock.

Meaning of Burdock

A surname derived from the plant name "burdock", potentially indicating one who lived near an abundance of that plant.

Burdock, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Burdock surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Burdock in America

Burdock is the 78821st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Burdock surname appeared 242 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Burdock.

We can also compare 2010 data for Burdock to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

20102000Change (%)
Rank78821729057.80%
Count242248-2.45%
Proportion per 100k0.080.09-11.76%

The history of the last name Burdock

The surname Burdock is of English origin and dates back to the late medieval period. It is a locational surname derived from the place name Burdock, which was a parish in Derbyshire, England. The name itself comes from the Old English words 'burr' meaning a bur or prickly seed head and 'doc' meaning a plant or weed, referring to the burdock plant common in the area.

One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was William de Burdoc, mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Staffordshire in 1208. The Pipe Rolls were medieval financial records maintained by the English Exchequer. This indicates the name was well-established in the Midlands region of England by the early 13th century.

In the 14th century, the spelling variations of the name included Burdock, Burdoke, Burdoc, and Burdok. The Burdock family was also associated with the village of Burdock in Derbyshire, which is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as 'Burdoch'.

One notable bearer of the Burdock name was Sir Thomas Burdock (c. 1385 - 1457), a Member of Parliament for Derbyshire in 1422 and 1427. Another was Robert Burdock (1578 - 1639), an English clergyman and author who published several works on theology.

The name also spread beyond England, with records showing a Burdock family residing in Scotland by the 16th century. One member, John Burdock (1592 - 1668), was a Scottish merchant and landowner who acquired significant property in Edinburgh.

In the 17th century, the Burdock surname appears in various records across England, including the Hearth Tax Rolls for Suffolk in 1674, where a Thomas Burdock is listed as a householder. Another bearer of note was William Burdock (1639 - 1716), an English botanist and herbalist who wrote extensively on the medicinal properties of plants.

Over the centuries, the Burdock name has been associated with various locations in England, particularly in the counties of Derbyshire, Staffordshire, and Suffolk. Though not a common surname today, it has a rich history tied to the medieval English countryside and its traditional plant life.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Burdock

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Burdock.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

  1. White only
  2. Black only
  3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
  4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
  5. Hispanic
  6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Burdock was:

Race/EthnicityPercentageTotal Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only92.56%224
Non-Hispanic Black Only5.37%13
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only0.00%0
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native0.00%0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races(S)%(S)
Hispanic Origin(S)%(S)

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Burdock has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

20102000Change (%)
White92.56%89.52%3.34%
Black5.37%6.05%-11.91%
Asian and Pacific Islander0.00%(S)%(S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0.00%0.00%0.00%
Two or More Races(S)%(S)%(S)%
Hispanic(S)%(S)%(S)%

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Burdock was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Burdock, please contact us.

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