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

Burns, 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 Burns surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Burns in America

Burns is the 155th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Burns surname appeared 165,925 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 56 people would have the surname Burns.

We can also compare 2010 data for Burns 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 Burns

The surname Burns is of Scottish origin, derived from the Old English word "burna" meaning a stream or brook. It is believed to have emerged as a surname in the 12th century, referring to people who lived near a stream or brook.

Originally, the name was found in various forms such as Burn, Burne, Burnes, and Burnys. The earliest recorded instance of the name is found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "de Burna" and refers to a location in Lincolnshire, England.

In Scotland, the surname Burns is particularly associated with the Ayrshire region, where the famous poet Robert Burns was born in 1759. Burns is considered the national poet of Scotland and his works, such as "Auld Lang Syne" and "Scots Wha Hae," have become cultural icons.

Another notable bearer of the surname was Walter Burns (1776-1853), a Scottish merchant and co-founder of the Cunard Steamship Company. The company played a significant role in establishing regular transatlantic steam navigation.

In the United States, the surname Burns has been present since the early colonial period. One of the earliest recorded instances is that of Thomas Burns, who was born in England around 1645 and settled in Virginia.

The Burns family has also produced several notable figures, including Ken Burns (born 1953), an American filmmaker known for his documentaries on various historical subjects, and Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (1896-1953), an American author best known for her novel "The Yearling," for which she won the Pulitzer Prize in 1939.

Throughout history, the surname Burns has been associated with various place names, such as Burnside, Burnsall, and Burnham, reflecting the original meaning of the name as related to streams or brooks.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Burns

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

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

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

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