How common is the surname Burke?

122,877 people in the United States had the surname Burke in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 2,513 Americans. It ranked 246th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Burke?

Edmund Burke, Anglo-Irish statesman, political theorist and conservative philosopher (1729–1797), followed by Tarana Burke.

Where is the surname Burke most common?

Wikidata records people named Burke in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia and 3 other countries.

Is the surname Burke getting more or less common?

More common. 119,175 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 122,877 in 2010, up 3.1%.

The surname Burke

A Norman place surname, carried by 122,877 people in the United States.

Pronounced /bɝk/ 1 syllable Soundex B620

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Burke is more common than 99.8% of them.

Origin

Norman origin

From an Anglo-Norman pronunciation of burg.

Burke is a place surname: taken from where an ancestor lived or came from.

One of 128 Norman surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 122,877 people named Burke in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 2,513 Americans. That is up 3.1% since 2000, when the Census counted 119,175.

#246

rank among US surnames

122,877

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+3.1%

change since 2000 (was #229)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#237	Rios	127,794	2,416
#238	Estrada	127,470	2,422
#239	Ortega	127,256	2,426
#240	Watkins	127,083	2,429
#241	Greene	126,101	2,448
#242	Nunez	125,350	2,463
#243	Wheeler	125,058	2,469

Who is named Burke

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

86% of people named Burke identified as white (not Hispanic), 8.8% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.4% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 86%
Black (not Hispanic) 8.8%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.4%
Two or more races 1.7%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.7%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.5%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Burkes

58 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Edmund Burke
Anglo-Irish statesman, political theorist and conservative philosopher (1729–1797)
Tarana Burke
American civil rights activist, born 1973
Raymond Leo Burke
American Catholic cardinal, born 1948
Billie Burke
American stage and film actress (1884-1970)
Solomon Burke
American singer (1940–2010)
Thomas Burke
American sprinter, 1875–1929
Billy Burke
American actor, musician, born 1966
Delta Burke
Actress, born 1956
Tom Burke
British actor, born 1981
Kenneth Burke
American philosopher and literary critic (1897–1993)
Lynn Burke
American swimmer, born 1943
Robert John Burke
American actor (born 1960)

Notable Burkes come mostly from the United States (45), the United Kingdom (5) and Australia (3).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Burgh
Bourke
Burgo
Burk

Surnames that sound like Burke

Burke has the Soundex code B620, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code B620.

Other Norman surnames

All 128 Norman surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Burke come from?: From an Anglo-Norman pronunciation of burg.
How common is the surname Burke?: 122,877 people in the United States had the surname Burke in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 2,513 Americans. It ranked 246th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Burke?: In the 2010 Census, 86% of people named Burke identified as white (not Hispanic), and 8.8% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Burke?: Edmund Burke, Anglo-Irish statesman, political theorist and conservative philosopher (1729–1797), followed by Tarana Burke.
Where is the surname Burke most common?: Wikidata records people named Burke in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia and 3 other countries.
How do you pronounce Burke?: Burke is /bɝk/, one syllable.
What type of surname is Burke?: Burke is a place surname, taken from where an ancestor lived or came from.
Is the surname Burke getting more or less common?: More common. 119,175 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 122,877 in 2010, up 3.1%.
What are other spellings of Burke?: Burgh, Bourke, Burgo and Burk.