2000
#12,507
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,272
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.84
Rare Last name
Burse
An occupational surname referring to someone who makes or sells purses, bags, or pouches.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,828 Americans carry the last name Burse. That puts it at #12,074 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.83 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 121,200 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Burse 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
2.8K
1 in 121,200
Census rank
#12,074
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,466 bearers of the surname Burse in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.83 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12074th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Burse, the largest self-reported group is Black at 70.1%. The next largest groups are White (19.8%) and Two or More Races (6.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Burse
The surname "BURSE" originated in England during the late medieval period, derived from the Old English word "burse," meaning a purse or pouch. This is likely a reference to an ancestor's occupation as a purse maker or seller.
The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in Norfolk and Suffolk during the 13th century. It appears in various spellings, such as "Burser," "Bursser," and "Burcer," reflecting the phonetic variations common in that era.
One of the earliest documented references to the name is in the Hundred Rolls of Norfolk, dated around 1273, which mentions a "William Burse" residing in the county. Another notable early record is the Subsidy Rolls of Suffolk from 1327, listing a "John Burser" as a taxpayer.
In the 14th century, the name appears in the Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield, Yorkshire, where a "Richard Burce" is mentioned in 1348. This spelling variation suggests a potential connection to the place name "Burs," a village in Lincolnshire.
Notable individuals bearing the surname "BURSE" throughout history include:
1. John Burse (c. 1520 - 1585), an English Protestant reformer and clergyman who served as the Bishop of Bristol from 1554 to 1585.
2. Edmund Burse (1590 - 1662), an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1640 to 1648, representing the borough of Malmesbury.
3. William Burse (1638 - 1710), a prominent merchant and landowner in the Virginia Colony, known for his role in establishing the town of Williamsburg.
4. Elizabeth Burse (1672 - 1743), an English philanthropist and benefactor, who endowed several educational institutions in her hometown of Hitchin, Hertfordshire.
5. Thomas Burse (1799 - 1873), an English architect and surveyor, renowned for his work on numerous churches and public buildings in London and the surrounding areas.
While the name "BURSE" is not as prevalent today as it once was, its roots can be traced back to the medieval occupational and locational origins, reflecting the diverse histories and narratives woven into many English surnames.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Burse
Among Census respondents with the surname Burse, the largest self-reported group is Black at 70.1%. The next largest groups are White (19.8%) and Two or More Races (6.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Burse 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 Burse surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American70.1% · 1,728
- White19.8% · 489
- Two or more races6.8% · 167
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 59
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Burse
Burse 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
#11,886
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,634
+362 bearers (+15.9%)
Per 100,000 0.89
Rank movement Up 621 places
2020
#12,074
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,466
-168 bearers (-6.4%)
Per 100,000 0.83
Rank movement Down 188 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,507 | 2,272 | 0.84 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,886 | 2,634 | 0.89 | +362 bearers (+15.9%) | Up 621 places |
| 2020 | #12,074 | 2,466 | 0.83 | -168 bearers (-6.4%) | Down 188 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 Burse 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 | #11,886 | #12,074 | -1.6% |
| Count | 2,634 | 2,466 | -6.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.89 | 0.83 | -7.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Burse bearers went from 2,634 to 2,466 (-6.4% change). The surname moved down 188 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,886 to #12,074.
FAQ
Burse surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Burse?
Name Census estimates that about 2,828 living Americans carry the surname Burse. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 121,200 residents.
How common is Burse?
Burse ranks #12,074 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.83 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 2,466 people with the surname Burse. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,828), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.83 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.83 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 Burse.
Has Burse become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Burse went from 2,634 recorded bearers to 2,466. That is a decrease of 168 (-6.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,886 to #12,074.
What does the Census say about the background of Burse?
Among Census respondents with the surname Burse, the largest self-reported group is Black at 70.1%. The next largest groups are White (19.8%) and Two or More Races (6.8%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Burse in the 2020 Census, accounting for 70.1% (1,728 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Burse appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (70.1%), White (19.8%), Two or More Races (6.8%). 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 Burse (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 Burse mean?
An occupational surname referring to someone who makes or sells purses, bags, or pouches. 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 Burse (0.83 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 Burse?
Find out how many Americans have the surname Burse on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.