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

Burrows, 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 Burrows surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Burrows in America

Burrows is the 2085th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Burrows surname appeared 17,355 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 6 people would have the surname Burrows.

We can also compare 2010 data for Burrows 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 Burrows

The surname Burrows has its origins in England, with the earliest recorded use dating back to the 13th century. It is derived from the Old English word "burg," meaning a fortified town or dwelling place, and the word "hyll," meaning a hill. The name likely referred to someone who lived near or on a fortified hill or hillock.

The name is found in various early records and documents, including the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, which list individuals with the surname Burrows, or similar spellings such as Burghes or Burghys. The Domesday Book, compiled in 1086, does not contain the exact spelling "Burrows," but it does include names like "Burges" and "Borges," which may be related.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Burrows was John Burrows, who was mentioned in the Patent Rolls of 1324 as a merchant from the city of Bristol. Another early bearer of the name was Robert Burrows, a landowner from Cheshire, whose name appears in the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1392.

During the Middle Ages, the name Burrows was often associated with place names, particularly those derived from the Old English words "burg" and "hyll." For example, the village of Burrough in Leicestershire and the town of Burrough Green in Cambridgeshire may have given rise to the surname.

Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the surname Burrows. One of the earliest was Sir John Burrows (c. 1564-1641), an English lawyer and politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Ipswich and was a prominent figure during the reign of King Charles I.

Another notable bearer of the name was Reuben Burrows (1592-1648), an English clergyman and academic who served as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge from 1644 to 1645.

In the 18th century, William Burrows (1785-1813) was a British naval officer who served during the Napoleonic Wars and was killed in action during the Battle of Campeche Bay in 1813.

During the 19th century, George Burrows (1801-1887) was an English physician and writer who made significant contributions to the study of diseases of the brain and nervous system.

More recently, the American mathematician and computer scientist George W. Burrows (1917-2019) is known for his work in data compression and for co-inventing the Burrows-Wheeler transform, an algorithm used in data compression techniques.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Burrows

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

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

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

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