2000
#2,253
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 14,839
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.50
Uncommon Last name
Burr
An English occupational surname referring to a cloth-maker or someone who worked with coarse wool cloth.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 17,193 Americans carry the last name Burr. That puts it at #2,376 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.02 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 19,936 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Burr 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 Burr with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
17K
1 in 19,936
Census rank
#2,376
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
15K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 14,993 bearers of the surname Burr in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.02 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2376th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Burr, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.1%. The next largest groups are Black (7.5%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Burr
The surname Burr has its roots in the Old English word 'byrgen' or 'burren', meaning a burial place or hill. It is believed to have originated in England during the Anglo-Saxon period, around the 5th to 11th centuries.
In the early medieval period, Burr was a topographic surname, given to individuals living near a burial mound or hill. It is found in areas like Derbyshire, Staffordshire, and Yorkshire, where such landscape features were common.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Burr dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086, which mentions a landowner named Burred in Cambridgeshire. Other early records include a Robertus de Bure in the Pipe Rolls of Northamptonshire in 1198, and a Henry de la Bure in the Assize Rolls of Somerset in 1268.
Over time, the name evolved into various spellings, including Burgh, Borowe, and Burrough, reflecting regional dialects and scribal variations. These variations were often associated with place names, such as Burrow-on-the-Hill in Leicestershire and Burrough Green in Cambridgeshire.
Notable individuals with the surname Burr include Aaron Burr (1756-1836), the third Vice President of the United States and a prominent political figure. Another famous bearer was the English artist and engraver Wenceslaus Hollar (1607-1677), whose last name was sometimes spelled as Hollar Burr.
Other historical figures with the surname Burr include Jonathan Burr (1635-1641), one of the first settlers of Fairfield, Connecticut; Joseph Burr (1610-1653), an early colonist of Hartford, Connecticut; and Theodosia Burr (1783-1813), the daughter of Aaron Burr and a prominent figure in her own right.
The surname Burr has also been connected to other prominent families throughout history, such as the Burrs of Scotland and the Burr-Benningtons of England.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Burr
Among Census respondents with the surname Burr, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.1%. The next largest groups are Black (7.5%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Burr 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 Burr surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.1% · 12,464
- Black or African American7.5% · 1,126
- Two or more races4.0% · 603
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 512
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 192
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 96
Timeline
Historical Census data for Burr
Burr 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
#2,323
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,703
+864 bearers (+5.8%)
Per 100,000 5.32
Rank movement Down 70 places
2020
#2,376
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 14,993
-710 bearers (-4.5%)
Per 100,000 5.02
Rank movement Down 53 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,253 | 14,839 | 5.50 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,323 | 15,703 | 5.32 | +864 bearers (+5.8%) | Down 70 places |
| 2020 | #2,376 | 14,993 | 5.02 | -710 bearers (-4.5%) | Down 53 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 Burr 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 | #2,323 | #2,376 | -2.3% |
| Count | 15,703 | 14,993 | -4.5% |
| Per 100K | 5.32 | 5.02 | -5.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Burr bearers went from 15,703 to 14,993 (-4.5% change). The surname moved down 53 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,323 to #2,376.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Burr
FAQ
Burr surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Burr?
Name Census estimates that about 17,193 living Americans carry the surname Burr. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 19,936 residents.
How common is Burr?
Burr ranks #2,376 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.02 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 14,993 people with the surname Burr. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (17,193), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.02 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.02 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Burr.
Has Burr become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Burr went from 15,703 recorded bearers to 14,993. That is a decrease of 710 (-4.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,323 to #2,376.
What does the Census say about the background of Burr?
Among Census respondents with the surname Burr, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.1%. The next largest groups are Black (7.5%) and Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Burr in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.1% (12,464 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Burr appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (83.1%), Black (7.5%), Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Burr (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 Burr mean?
An English occupational surname referring to a cloth-maker or someone who worked with coarse wool cloth. 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 Burr (5.02 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 Burr?
Want to know how many people have the surname Burr? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.