2000
#1,242
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 25,998
First available Census row
Per 100,000 9.64
Uncommon Last name
Burris
A variant of Burroughs, referring to someone who lived near a fort or castle.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 28,977 Americans carry the last name Burris. That puts it at #1,376 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 8.45 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 11,828 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Burris 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 Burris with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
29K
1 in 11,828
Census rank
#1,376
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
8.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
25K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 25,269 bearers of the surname Burris in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 8.45 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1376th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Burris, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.6%. The next largest groups are Black (17.6%) and Two or More Races (5.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Burris
The surname Burris originated in England during the Middle Ages. It is believed to have derived from the Old English words "burr" meaning a small hill or mound, and "hyrst" meaning a wooded hill or grove. This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived near a wooded hill or in an area with small hills or mounds.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Burrys". This entry refers to a landowner or tenant in the county of Suffolk. The spelling of the name continued to evolve over the centuries, with variations such as "Burris", "Burys", and "Burrys" appearing in various historical records.
During the 13th century, the name appears in several medieval manuscripts and records, such as the Pipe Rolls of Northamptonshire from 1230, which mention a "William de Burys". This suggests that the name was well-established in various regions of England by that time.
One notable bearer of the name was Sir John Burris (c. 1450-1521), a knight and landowner from Lincolnshire. He served as a Member of Parliament and played a role in the Wars of the Roses. Another early figure was Thomas Burris (c. 1520-1587), a merchant and alderman in the city of London during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
In the 17th century, the surname appears in various parish records, such as the baptism of John Burris in St. Botolph's, Bishopsgate, London, in 1620. The name also has ties to several place names in England, such as Burris Hill in Worcestershire and Burris Green in Suffolk.
Other notable individuals with the surname Burris include Robert Burris (1690-1772), a prominent American colonist and landowner in Virginia, and John Burris (1835-1905), a Union Army veteran and politician who served as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Burris
Among Census respondents with the surname Burris, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.6%. The next largest groups are Black (17.6%) and Two or More Races (5.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Burris 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 Burris surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White71.6% · 18,085
- Black or African American17.6% · 4,441
- Two or more races5.5% · 1,386
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 821
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 381
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 155
Timeline
Historical Census data for Burris
Burris 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
#1,312
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 26,760
+762 bearers (+2.9%)
Per 100,000 9.07
Rank movement Down 70 places
2020
#1,376
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 25,269
-1,491 bearers (-5.6%)
Per 100,000 8.45
Rank movement Down 64 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,242 | 25,998 | 9.64 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,312 | 26,760 | 9.07 | +762 bearers (+2.9%) | Down 70 places |
| 2020 | #1,376 | 25,269 | 8.45 | -1,491 bearers (-5.6%) | Down 64 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 Burris 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 | #1,312 | #1,376 | -4.9% |
| Count | 26,760 | 25,269 | -5.6% |
| Per 100K | 9.07 | 8.45 | -6.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Burris bearers went from 26,760 to 25,269 (-5.6% change). The surname moved down 64 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,312 to #1,376.
FAQ
Burris surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Burris?
Name Census estimates that about 28,977 living Americans carry the surname Burris. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 11,828 residents.
How common is Burris?
Burris ranks #1,376 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 8.45 per 100,000 residents, which is about 8 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 25,269 people with the surname Burris. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (28,977), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 8.45 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 8.45 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 8 of them to have the surname Burris.
Has Burris become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Burris went from 26,760 recorded bearers to 25,269. That is a decrease of 1,491 (-5.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,312 to #1,376.
What does the Census say about the background of Burris?
Among Census respondents with the surname Burris, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.6%. The next largest groups are Black (17.6%) and Two or More Races (5.5%). 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 Burris in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.6% (18,085 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Burris appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (71.6%), Black (17.6%), Two or More Races (5.5%). 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 Burris (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 Burris mean?
A variant of Burroughs, referring to someone who lived near a fort or castle. 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 Burris (8.45 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 Burris?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans have the surname Burris at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.