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

Burson, 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 Burson surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Burson in America

Burson is the 6656th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Burson surname appeared 5,082 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Burson.

We can also compare 2010 data for Burson 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 Burson

The surname Burson is of English origin, dating back to the medieval period. It is believed to have originated in the county of Yorkshire, where it was likely derived from a place name or a descriptive term related to the landscape or a person's occupation.

One theory suggests that Burson is a combination of the Old English words "burr" and "tun," meaning "a farmstead near a hill or hillock." This could indicate that the earliest bearers of the name lived in a settlement situated near a prominent hill or elevated terrain.

Another possibility is that Burson is a variant of the name "Burghton," which itself derives from the Old English words "burg" (meaning "fortified place" or "town") and "tun" (meaning "farm" or "settlement"). This would suggest that the name was initially associated with individuals residing in or near a fortified town or village.

While there are no definitive records of the name's appearance in historical manuscripts such as the Domesday Book, it is worth noting that variations of the name, like "Burghton" and "Burston," can be found in medieval records from the 13th and 14th centuries.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Burson was in the Lancashire Assize Rolls of 1246, where a certain "Robert de Burghton" was mentioned. This suggests that the surname had already evolved into its current form by the mid-13th century.

Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the surname Burson. One of the earliest was John Burson (c. 1550-1612), an English clergyman and theologian who served as the rector of St. Mary-le-Bow in London during the late 16th century.

Another prominent figure was Sir John Burson (1618-1689), an English politician and landowner who served as a Member of Parliament for Ripon during the reign of Charles II. He was known for his involvement in the Glorious Revolution of 1688.

In the 19th century, Samuel Burson (1816-1892) was a renowned English architect who designed several notable buildings in London, including the Royal College of Surgeons and the Church of St. Barnabas in Pimlico.

In more recent times, the name Burson has been associated with individuals such as James Burson (1901-1976), an American baseball player who played for the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1920s, and Mary Burson (1928-2014), a British actress known for her roles in films like "The Belles of St. Trinian's" and "The Beast Must Die."

While the surname Burson may have evolved from various sources and taken on different spellings over the centuries, it remains an enduring part of the rich tapestry of English surnames, with a history that can be traced back to the medieval era and the counties of Yorkshire and Lancashire.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Burson

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!