2010
#130,610
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 130
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Burnstine
A surname derived from an English place name meaning "burned stone".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 135 Americans carry the last name Burnstine. That puts it at #143,511 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,538,921 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Burnstine 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.
Bearers in the US
135
1 in 2,538,921
Census rank
#143,511
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
118
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 118 bearers of the surname Burnstine in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 143511th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Burnstine, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.3%. The next largest groups are Black (19.5%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Burnstine
The surname BURNSTINE is of English origin, derived from the Old English words "burne" meaning a stream or brook, and "stan" meaning stone. It is believed to have originated in the 12th century as a topographic name for someone who lived near a stream or brook with a stony bed.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire from 1195, where a William de Brunestan is mentioned. This spelling variation suggests that the name was likely derived from a specific place name, possibly referring to a location with a stony brook.
In the 13th century, the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire from 1279 mention a John de Burneston, indicating that the name was also present in that region during that time period. The spelling variation "Burneston" further supports the theory of the name being derived from a place name.
The BURNSTINE surname is also found in historical records from Yorkshire, where a Thomas de Burneston is recorded in the Yorkshire Lay Subsidy Rolls of 1301. This suggests that the name had spread to different parts of England by the early 14th century.
One notable bearer of the BURNSTINE name was Sir John Burnstine (1450-1519), an English soldier and diplomat who served under King Henry VII and King Henry VIII. He was involved in the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485 and later served as an ambassador to the Holy Roman Empire.
Another historical figure with this surname was William Burnstine (1540-1619), an English clergyman and author who wrote several religious works, including "A Treatise on the Lord's Supper" published in 1591.
In the 17th century, the BURNSTINE surname is found in parish records from Lincolnshire, where a Thomas Burnstine was baptized in 1632 in the village of Butterwick. This suggests that the name had continued to be present in the area over the centuries.
During the same period, a Richard Burnstine (1610-1680) was a prominent merchant and landowner in the city of Bristol, indicating that the name had also spread to other parts of England by that time.
The BURNSTINE surname can also be found in historical records from Scotland, where a John Burnstine (1675-1742) was a notable physician and author who wrote a treatise on the use of mineral waters for medicinal purposes.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Burnstine
Among Census respondents with the surname Burnstine, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.3%. The next largest groups are Black (19.5%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Burnstine 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 Burnstine surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White76.3% · 90
- Black or African American19.5% · 23
- Two or more races2.5% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino1.7% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Burnstine
Burnstine appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#143,511
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
-12 bearers (-9.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 12,901 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #130,610 | 130 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #143,511 | 118 | 0.04 | -12 bearers (-9.2%) | Down 12,901 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 Burnstine 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 | #130,610 | #143,511 | -9.9% |
| Count | 130 | 118 | -9.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -1.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Burnstine bearers went from 130 to 118 (-9.2% change). The surname moved down 12,901 positions in the national ranking, going from #130,610 to #143,511.
FAQ
Burnstine surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Burnstine?
Name Census estimates that about 135 living Americans carry the surname Burnstine. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,538,921 residents.
How common is Burnstine?
Burnstine ranks #143,511 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 118 people with the surname Burnstine. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (135), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Burnstine.
Has Burnstine become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Burnstine went from 130 recorded bearers to 118. That is a decrease of 12 (-9.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #130,610 to #143,511.
What does the Census say about the background of Burnstine?
Among Census respondents with the surname Burnstine, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.3%. The next largest groups are Black (19.5%) and Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Burnstine in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.3% (90 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Burnstine appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (76.3%), Black (19.5%), Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Burnstine (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 Burnstine mean?
A surname derived from an English place name meaning "burned stone". 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 Burnstine (0.04 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 have the surname Burnstine?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.