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

Burnette, 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 Burnette surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Burnette in America

Burnette is the 2172nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Burnette surname appeared 16,717 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 6 people would have the surname Burnette.

We can also compare 2010 data for Burnette 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.

The history of the last name Burnette

The surname Burnette is believed to have originated in France and is a variation of the name Burnett. The name Burnett is thought to derive from the Old French word "brunet," which means "brown" or "dark brown." This suggests that the surname may have initially been a nickname referring to someone with brown hair or a dark complexion.

The earliest recorded instances of the name Burnett date back to the 12th century in Normandy, France. However, it wasn't until the 13th century that the name began to appear in English records, likely brought to Britain by Norman settlers after the Norman Conquest of 1066.

One of the earliest known references to the surname Burnette can be found in the Rotuli Hundredorum, a census-like record compiled in England in the late 13th century. This document mentions a William Burnet living in Oxfordshire.

In the 14th century, the name Burnette appeared in various spellings, including Burnet, Burnett, and Burnette, reflecting the fluid nature of surname spellings during that time period. For instance, in the Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire from 1327, a John Burnett is listed as a resident of the county.

One notable figure with the surname Burnette was Sir Robert Burnett (c. 1585-1670), a Scottish landowner and politician who served as Lord of Session in Scotland's highest civil court.

Another historical figure was John Burnett (1619-1684), an English clergyman and author who wrote several religious works, including a treatise on the doctrine of the Trinity.

In the 18th century, James Burnett, Lord Monboddo (1714-1799), was a Scottish philosopher, linguist, and judge. He is remembered for his theory that humans descended from primates, which was considered highly controversial at the time.

The surname Burnette also has ties to the United States, with several notable individuals bearing this name. For example, Dana Burnett (1888-1917) was an American aviator and one of the first female pilots in the United States.

Another prominent figure was Whit Burnett (1899-1972), an American writer and editor who founded the influential literary magazine Story, which published works by notable authors such as J.D. Salinger and Carson McCullers.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Burnette

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

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 Burnette was:

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 Burnette has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

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 Burnette was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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