2000
#6,341
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,944
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.83
Rare Last name
Burson
Derived from a place name meaning "Bur's son," referring to a person from a town or village called Bur.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,156 Americans carry the last name Burson. That puts it at #7,167 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.50 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 66,477 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Burson 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 Burson with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
5.2K
1 in 66,477
Census rank
#7,167
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,496 bearers of the surname Burson in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.50 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7167th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Burson, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.6%. The next largest groups are Black (10.8%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Burson
Among Census respondents with the surname Burson, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.6%. The next largest groups are Black (10.8%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Burson 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 Burson surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.6% · 3,577
- Black or African American10.8% · 486
- Two or more races4.2% · 187
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 167
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 49
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 30
Timeline
Historical Census data for Burson
Burson 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
#6,656
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,082
+138 bearers (+2.8%)
Per 100,000 1.72
Rank movement Down 315 places
2020
#7,167
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,496
-586 bearers (-11.5%)
Per 100,000 1.50
Rank movement Down 511 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,341 | 4,944 | 1.83 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,656 | 5,082 | 1.72 | +138 bearers (+2.8%) | Down 315 places |
| 2020 | #7,167 | 4,496 | 1.50 | -586 bearers (-11.5%) | Down 511 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 Burson 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 | #6,656 | #7,167 | -7.7% |
| Count | 5,082 | 4,496 | -11.5% |
| Per 100K | 1.72 | 1.50 | -12.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Burson bearers went from 5,082 to 4,496 (-11.5% change). The surname moved down 511 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,656 to #7,167.
FAQ
Burson surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Burson?
Name Census estimates that about 5,156 living Americans carry the surname Burson. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 66,477 residents.
How common is Burson?
Burson ranks #7,167 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.50 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 4,496 people with the surname Burson. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,156), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.5 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.50 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Burson.
Has Burson become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Burson went from 5,082 recorded bearers to 4,496. That is a decrease of 586 (-11.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,656 to #7,167.
What does the Census say about the background of Burson?
Among Census respondents with the surname Burson, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.6%. The next largest groups are Black (10.8%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Burson in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.6% (3,577 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Burson appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (79.6%), Black (10.8%), Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Burson (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 Burson mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "Bur's son," referring to a person from a town or village called Bur. 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 Burson (1.50 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 are called Burson?
See how many people have the last name Burson on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.