# Burnham (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/burnham/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A habitational surname from Old English.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | English |
| Type | place, taken from where an ancestor lived or came from |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 15,775 |
| US rank (2010) | 2,315 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 19,572 people |
| Change since 2000 | +3.1% (15,299 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈbɝnəm/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | Burnam |

## Etymology

From Old English burna (“stream”) + hām (“homestead”) or hamm (“water meadow”).

## Who carries it

Share of people named Burnham in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 91% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 3.9% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.1% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.7% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.5% |
| Two or more races | 1.8% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Burnham in the United States and the United Kingdom.

## People named Burnham

- Bo Burnham, American comedian
- Daniel Burnham, American architect and urban designer (1846– 1912)
- Sherburne Wesley Burnham, American astronomer (1838–1921)
- James Burnham, American philosopher (1905–1987)
- Kevin Burnham, American sailor (1956–2020)
- Robert Burnham, Jr., American astronomer (1931–1993)
- Henry E. Burnham, American politician (1844–1917)
- Andrew Burnham, British bishop (born 1948)

## Similar surnames

Branham, Burman, Branam, Burnam, Burningham, Brennan, Browning, Berman, Brannon, Berryman, Brannan, Birmingham.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.