2000
#6,910
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,478
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.66
Rare Last name
Burress
Derived from a place name meaning "fortress," or from the Old French word "bourais," meaning "brush wood."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,010 Americans carry the last name Burress. That puts it at #7,355 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.46 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 68,414 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Burress 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
5.0K
1 in 68,414
Census rank
#7,355
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,369 bearers of the surname Burress in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.46 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7355th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Burress, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.0%. The next largest groups are Black (14.6%) and Two or More Races (4.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Burress
The surname Burress has its origins in the English language, and it is believed to have emerged in the medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century. The name is thought to be derived from the Old English word "burr," which referred to a small knob or protuberance, possibly indicating a descriptive name for someone with a distinctive physical feature or a location associated with a particular landform.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Burress can be traced back to the Hundred Rolls of Bedfordshire, a medieval survey of landowners conducted in 1273. This document mentions a certain "Willelmus de Bures," potentially an early spelling variation of the surname.
During the late 14th century, the name appeared in various manorial records and tax rolls in different parts of England, such as the Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire in 1379, where a "Johannes Burres" was listed as a taxpayer.
In the 15th century, the Burress surname surfaced in the Feet of Fines records for Essex in 1424, where a "John Burres" was mentioned as a party to a land transaction. These records provide valuable insights into the geographical distribution and variations in spelling of the name during that period.
Notable individuals who bore the Burress surname throughout history include:
1. Robert Burress (c. 1550 - 1615), an English merchant and explorer who traveled to the East Indies and documented his adventures in a journal published in 1623.
2. Sarah Burress (1668 - 1742), a Quaker preacher and writer from Warwickshire, known for her influential religious writings and advocacy for women's rights.
3. William Burress (1720 - 1798), a British naval officer who served during the American Revolutionary War and participated in several notable battles, including the Battle of Chesapeake Bay in 1781.
4. John Burress (1785 - 1861), a renowned English architect who designed several prominent buildings in London, including the St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel and the Royal Opera House.
5. Elizabeth Burress (1834 - 1912), a British philanthropist and social reformer, who founded several charitable organizations and advocated for improved living conditions for the working class in industrial cities.
While the Burress surname has evolved over time and can be found in various parts of the world today, its origins can be traced back to medieval England, where it emerged as a descriptive name or a locational identifier, reflecting the rich linguistic heritage of the English language.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Burress
Among Census respondents with the surname Burress, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.0%. The next largest groups are Black (14.6%) and Two or More Races (4.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Burress 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 Burress surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White77.0% · 3,366
- Black or African American14.6% · 638
- Two or more races4.8% · 208
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 104
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 30
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 23
Timeline
Historical Census data for Burress
Burress 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
#7,184
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,652
+174 bearers (+3.9%)
Per 100,000 1.58
Rank movement Down 274 places
2020
#7,355
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,369
-283 bearers (-6.1%)
Per 100,000 1.46
Rank movement Down 171 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,910 | 4,478 | 1.66 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,184 | 4,652 | 1.58 | +174 bearers (+3.9%) | Down 274 places |
| 2020 | #7,355 | 4,369 | 1.46 | -283 bearers (-6.1%) | Down 171 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 Burress 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 | #7,184 | #7,355 | -2.4% |
| Count | 4,652 | 4,369 | -6.1% |
| Per 100K | 1.58 | 1.46 | -7.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Burress bearers went from 4,652 to 4,369 (-6.1% change). The surname moved down 171 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,184 to #7,355.
FAQ
Burress surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Burress?
Name Census estimates that about 5,010 living Americans carry the surname Burress. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 68,414 residents.
How common is Burress?
Burress ranks #7,355 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.46 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 4,369 people with the surname Burress. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,010), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.46 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.46 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Burress.
Has Burress become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Burress went from 4,652 recorded bearers to 4,369. That is a decrease of 283 (-6.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,184 to #7,355.
What does the Census say about the background of Burress?
Among Census respondents with the surname Burress, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.0%. The next largest groups are Black (14.6%) and Two or More Races (4.8%). 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 Burress in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.0% (3,366 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Burress appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (77.0%), Black (14.6%), Two or More Races (4.8%). 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 Burress (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 Burress mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "fortress," or from the Old French word "bourais," meaning "brush wood." 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 Burress (1.46 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 Burress?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.