2000
#407
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 71,604
First available Census row
Per 100,000 26.54
Uncommon Last name
Burgess
An occupational surname referring to a citizen of a borough or town, or a freeman.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 81,094 Americans carry the last name Burgess. That puts it at #456 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 23.66 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 4,227 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Burgess 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 Burgess with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
81K
1 in 4,227
Census rank
#456
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
23.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
71K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 70,718 bearers of the surname Burgess in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 23.66 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 456th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Burgess, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.6%. The next largest groups are Black (18.0%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Burgess
The surname Burgess originated in England during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old French word "burgeis" which means a freeman or citizen of a borough or town. The term "borough" itself comes from the Anglo-Saxon "burh" meaning a fortified town or settlement.
Burgess was an occupational surname given to those who held rights as freemen or burgesses in a medieval borough or town. These individuals were often merchants, tradesmen or craftsmen who enjoyed certain privileges and liberties within the borough's jurisdiction.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Burgess can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of landholdings and population in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The name appears in various spellings such as "Burgeis" and "Burgensis" throughout the document.
In the 13th century, the name was found in various records and legal documents, such as the Curia Regis Rolls and the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire. For example, a certain William Burgess was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of 1166 in relation to a land transaction in Yorkshire.
The surname Burgess also has connections to various place names in England, such as Burgess Hill in West Sussex and Burgess Park in London. These places likely derived their names from individuals bearing the surname Burgess who were associated with those locations.
Notable individuals with the surname Burgess throughout history include:
1. Roger Burgess (c. 1325-1392), an English prelate who served as Bishop of Salisbury from 1389 until his death.
2. Anthony Burgess (1917-1993), an English novelist and critic best known for his novel "A Clockwork Orange".
3. Guy Burgess (1911-1963), a British diplomat and Soviet spy who defected to the Soviet Union in 1951, along with several other members of the Cambridge Five spy ring.
4. Thomas Burgess (1784-1837), an English philosopher and bishop who served as Bishop of Salisbury from 1825 until his death.
5. Gelett Burgess (1866-1951), an American author, artist and humorist who is best known for coining the word "blurb" in 1907.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Burgess
Among Census respondents with the surname Burgess, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.6%. The next largest groups are Black (18.0%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Burgess 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 Burgess surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White72.6% · 51,331
- Black or African American18.0% · 12,745
- Two or more races4.4% · 3,136
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 2,322
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 639
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 545
Timeline
Historical Census data for Burgess
Burgess 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
#444
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 73,931
+2,327 bearers (+3.2%)
Per 100,000 25.06
Rank movement Down 37 places
2020
#456
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 70,718
-3,213 bearers (-4.3%)
Per 100,000 23.66
Rank movement Down 12 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #407 | 71,604 | 26.54 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #444 | 73,931 | 25.06 | +2,327 bearers (+3.2%) | Down 37 places |
| 2020 | #456 | 70,718 | 23.66 | -3,213 bearers (-4.3%) | Down 12 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 Burgess 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 | #444 | #456 | -2.7% |
| Count | 73,931 | 70,718 | -4.3% |
| Per 100K | 25.06 | 23.66 | -5.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Burgess bearers went from 73,931 to 70,718 (-4.3% change). The surname moved down 12 positions in the national ranking, going from #444 to #456.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Burgess
FAQ
Burgess surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Burgess?
Name Census estimates that about 81,094 living Americans carry the surname Burgess. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 4,227 residents.
How common is Burgess?
Burgess ranks #456 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 23.66 per 100,000 residents, which is about 24 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 70,718 people with the surname Burgess. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (81,094), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 23.66 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 23.66 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 24 of them to have the surname Burgess.
Has Burgess become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Burgess went from 73,931 recorded bearers to 70,718. That is a decrease of 3,213 (-4.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #444 to #456.
What does the Census say about the background of Burgess?
Among Census respondents with the surname Burgess, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.6%. The next largest groups are Black (18.0%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Burgess in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.6% (51,331 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Burgess appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (72.6%), Black (18.0%), Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Burgess (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 Burgess mean?
An occupational surname referring to a citizen of a borough or town, or a freeman. 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 Burgess (23.66 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 common is the surname Burgess?
See how many Americans have the surname Burgess on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.