2000
#12,127
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,359
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.87
Rare Last name
Burgan
An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic "Ó Burgáin," meaning "descendant of Burgán," a personal name of uncertain meaning.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,406 Americans carry the last name Burgan. That puts it at #13,798 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.70 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 142,458 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Burgan surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Burgan with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.4K
1 in 142,458
Census rank
#13,798
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,098 bearers of the surname Burgan in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.70 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13798th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Burgan, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.7%. The next largest groups are Black (10.2%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Burgan
The surname BURGAN is believed to have originated in England during the medieval period. It is derived from the Old English words "burh" meaning a fortified town or manor, and "gan" which meant to go or proceed. This suggests the name may have referred to someone who lived near or worked at a fortified town or estate.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1166, which mentions a Richard Burgain. The Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire from 1273 also lists a Walter le Burgon. These early spellings highlight how the name evolved over time.
BURGAN may have links to various place names in England, such as Burgh in Norfolk, or Burton in several counties. It's possible the name originated from one of these locations before becoming a surname.
In the 13th century, a William Burgun is recorded in the Curia Regis Rolls of Northamptonshire in 1221. A few centuries later, the Parish Registers of St. Mary's in Beverley, Yorkshire, note the marriage of Thomas Burgan in 1599.
Notable individuals with the BURGAN surname include John Burgan (1592-1670), an English composer and organist who served King Charles I. In the 19th century, Michael Burgan (1834-1912) was an Irish-born Australian politician who served as a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly.
Other bearers of the name include William Burgan (1788-1853), a British naval officer who fought in the Napoleonic Wars, and Thomas Burgan (1835-1928), an English cricketer who played for Nottinghamshire in the 1860s.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Burgan
Among Census respondents with the surname Burgan, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.7%. The next largest groups are Black (10.2%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Burgan bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Burgan surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White81.7% · 1,715
- Black or African American10.2% · 213
- Two or more races4.3% · 90
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 59
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Burgan
Burgan appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#12,872
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,391
+32 bearers (+1.4%)
Per 100,000 0.81
Rank movement Down 745 places
2020
#13,798
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,098
-293 bearers (-12.3%)
Per 100,000 0.70
Rank movement Down 926 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,127 | 2,359 | 0.87 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,872 | 2,391 | 0.81 | +32 bearers (+1.4%) | Down 745 places |
| 2020 | #13,798 | 2,098 | 0.70 | -293 bearers (-12.3%) | Down 926 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Burgan surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #12,872 | #13,798 | -7.2% |
| Count | 2,391 | 2,098 | -12.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.81 | 0.70 | -13.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Burgan bearers went from 2,391 to 2,098 (-12.3% change). The surname moved down 926 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,872 to #13,798.
FAQ
Burgan surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Burgan?
Name Census estimates that about 2,406 living Americans carry the surname Burgan. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 142,458 residents.
How common is Burgan?
Burgan ranks #13,798 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.70 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,098 people with the surname Burgan. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,406), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.7 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.70 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Burgan.
Has Burgan become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Burgan went from 2,391 recorded bearers to 2,098. That is a decrease of 293 (-12.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,872 to #13,798.
What does the Census say about the background of Burgan?
Among Census respondents with the surname Burgan, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.7%. The next largest groups are Black (10.2%) and Two or More Races (4.3%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Burgan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.7% (1,715 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Burgan appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (81.7%), Black (10.2%), Two or More Races (4.3%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Burgan (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Burgan mean?
An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic "Ó Burgáin," meaning "descendant of Burgán," a personal name of uncertain meaning. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Burgan (0.70 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people are called Burgan?
Find out how many people have the last name Burgan on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.