2000
#2,179
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,299
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.67
Uncommon Last name
Burnham
A locational surname referring to someone who lived near a stream or brook.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 17,369 Americans carry the last name Burnham. That puts it at #2,343 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.07 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 19,734 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Burnham 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 Burnham with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
17K
1 in 19,734
Census rank
#2,343
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
15K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 15,147 bearers of the surname Burnham in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.07 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2343rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Burnham, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.0%. The next largest groups are Black (3.7%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Burnham
The surname BURNHAM is of Anglo-Saxon origin, deriving from the Old English words "burna" meaning a stream or brook, and "ham" referring to a homestead or village. It is believed to have originated in England during the 7th to 11th centuries as a locational name for people who lived near a prominent brook or stream.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the BURNHAM surname can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a great survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror. This ancient record documents several places named Burnham, including those in Buckinghamshire, Essex, and Somerset.
During the Middle Ages, the BURNHAM name was predominantly found in the counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex, and Norfolk, where it is believed to have originated from various place names such as Burnham-on-Crouch, Burnham Norton, and Burnham Overy. These locations were often named after the nearby streams or brooks.
Notable historical figures bearing the BURNHAM surname include Richard Burnham (1711-1752), an English explorer and naval captain who explored the South Pacific, and Hiram Burnham (1709-1789), an American manufacturer and politician who served as a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives.
Another prominent individual was William Burnham (1779-1843), an English architect who designed several notable buildings in London, including the Royal Mint and the Royal Opera House. Additionally, Ambrose Everett Burnside (1824-1881), a Union Army officer during the American Civil War, gained fame for his distinctive style of facial hair known as "sideburns."
The BURNHAM name has also been associated with several places, such as Burnham-on-Sea, a town in Somerset, England, and Burnham, a village in Buckinghamshire, both of which likely derived their names from the Old English words for a homestead near a stream.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Burnham
Among Census respondents with the surname Burnham, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.0%. The next largest groups are Black (3.7%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Burnham 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 Burnham surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.0% · 13,332
- Black or African American3.7% · 563
- Two or more races3.7% · 561
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 497
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 117
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 77
Timeline
Historical Census data for Burnham
Burnham 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
#2,315
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,775
+476 bearers (+3.1%)
Per 100,000 5.35
Rank movement Down 136 places
2020
#2,343
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,147
-628 bearers (-4.0%)
Per 100,000 5.07
Rank movement Down 28 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,179 | 15,299 | 5.67 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,315 | 15,775 | 5.35 | +476 bearers (+3.1%) | Down 136 places |
| 2020 | #2,343 | 15,147 | 5.07 | -628 bearers (-4.0%) | Down 28 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 Burnham 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 | #2,315 | #2,343 | -1.2% |
| Count | 15,775 | 15,147 | -4.0% |
| Per 100K | 5.35 | 5.07 | -5.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Burnham bearers went from 15,775 to 15,147 (-4.0% change). The surname moved down 28 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,315 to #2,343.
FAQ
Burnham surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Burnham?
Name Census estimates that about 17,369 living Americans carry the surname Burnham. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 19,734 residents.
How common is Burnham?
Burnham ranks #2,343 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.07 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 15,147 people with the surname Burnham. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (17,369), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.07 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.07 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Burnham.
Has Burnham become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Burnham went from 15,775 recorded bearers to 15,147. That is a decrease of 628 (-4.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,315 to #2,343.
What does the Census say about the background of Burnham?
Among Census respondents with the surname Burnham, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.0%. The next largest groups are Black (3.7%) and Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Burnham in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.0% (13,332 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Burnham appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.0%), Black (3.7%), Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Burnham (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 Burnham mean?
A locational surname referring to someone who lived near a stream or brook. 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 Burnham (5.07 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 Burnham?
See how common the surname Burnham is on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.