How common is the surname Burns?

165,925 people in the United States had the surname Burns in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 1,861 Americans. It ranked 155th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Burns?

George Burns, American comedian, actor, writer and singer (1896–1996), followed by Nathan Burns.

Where is the surname Burns most common?

Wikidata records people named Burns in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom and 1 other country.

How do you pronounce Burns?

Burns is /bɝnz/, one syllable.

Is the surname Burns getting more or less common?

More common. 162,153 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 165,925 in 2010, up 2.3%.

The surname Burns

A surname, carried by 165,925 people in the United States.

Pronounced /bɝnz/ 1 syllable Soundex B652

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Burns is more common than 99.9% of them.

Origin

* 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.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 165,925 people named Burns in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 1,861 Americans. That is up 2.3% since 2000, when the Census counted 162,153.

#155

rank among US surnames

165,925

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+2.3%

change since 2000 (was #141)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#146	Kennedy	176,865	1,746
#147	Wells	176,230	1,752
#148	Vargas	173,835	1,776
#149	Henry	170,964	1,806
#150	Chen	169,580	1,821
#151	Freeman	169,149	1,825
#152	Webb	168,878	1,828

Who is named Burns

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

80% of people named Burns identified as white (not Hispanic), 14% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.5% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 80%
Black (not Hispanic) 14%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.5%
Two or more races 1.8%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.8%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.6%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Burnss

70 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

George Burns
American comedian, actor, writer and singer (1896–1996)
Nathan Burns
Australian association football player, born 1988
Ken Burns
American documentarian and filmmaker (born 1953)
Edward Burns
American actor and director, born 1968
William J. Burns
American diplomat (born 1956)
Brooke Burns
American fashion model and game show host (born 1978)
Ursula Burns
American businessperson, born 1958
Heather Burns
American actress, born 1975
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)

Notable Burnss come mostly from the United States (58), Australia (6) and the United Kingdom (4).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Burns

Burns has the Soundex code B652, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code B652.

Questions

Where does the surname Burns come from?: * 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…
How common is the surname Burns?: 165,925 people in the United States had the surname Burns in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 1,861 Americans. It ranked 155th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Burns?: In the 2010 Census, 80% of people named Burns identified as white (not Hispanic), and 14% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Burns?: George Burns, American comedian, actor, writer and singer (1896–1996), followed by Nathan Burns.
Where is the surname Burns most common?: Wikidata records people named Burns in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom and 1 other country.
How do you pronounce Burns?: Burns is /bɝnz/, one syllable.
Is the surname Burns getting more or less common?: More common. 162,153 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 165,925 in 2010, up 2.3%.