# Burns (surname)

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

A surname.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | not recorded |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 165,925 |
| US rank (2010) | 155 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 1,861 people |
| Change since 2000 | +2.3% (162,153 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /bɝnz/, 1 syllable |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

* As a Scottish surname, from several places such as Burnis, Burnes, Burnhouse, containing the noun burn (“stream”). * As an English and Scottish surname, variant of Burn or Barnes. * As an Irish surname, Anglicized from Ó Broin, see Byrne. * As a Jewish surname, Americanized and shortened from Bernstein.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Burns 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) | 80% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 14% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.5% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.6% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.8% |
| Two or more races | 1.8% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Burns in the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom and Brazil.

## People named Burns

- George Burns, American comedian, actor, writer and singer (1896–1996)
- Nathan Burns, Australian association football player
- Ken Burns, American documentarian and filmmaker (born 1953)
- Edward Burns, American actor and director
- William J. Burns, American diplomat (born 1956)
- Brooke Burns, American fashion model and game show host (born 1978)
- Ursula Burns, American businessperson
- Heather Burns, American actress
- Marilyn Burns, American actress (1949–2014)
- Lucy Burns, American suffragist (1879-1966)
- Catherine Burns, American actress and writer (1945-2019)
- Bob Burns, American drummer (1950–2015)

and 58 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Barnes, Byrnes, Bruns, Berens, Berns, Burnes, Brenes, Byrns, Brunson, Burnside, Brinks, Burhans.

## 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.