2000
#91,404
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 187
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.07
Very Rare Last name
Burstyn
A Slavic surname possibly derived from the German word "Burst" meaning "brush" or "bristle".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 209 Americans carry the last name Burstyn. That puts it at #104,723 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.06 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,639,973 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Burstyn 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.
Bearers in the US
209
1 in 1,639,973
Census rank
#104,723
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
182
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 182 bearers of the surname Burstyn in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.06 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 104723rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Burstyn, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Burstyn
The surname BURSTYN has its origins in the Jewish community of Eastern Europe, particularly in what is now Poland and Ukraine. It likely emerged during the 13th or 14th century, a time when many Jews were adopting hereditary surnames.
The name BURSTYN may have derived from the Yiddish word "burstn," meaning to break or burst, possibly indicating an occupation or characteristic associated with the family's earliest bearers. Alternatively, it could have roots in a place name, though the exact location is uncertain.
Early records mentioning the BURSTYN surname are scarce, but it does appear in a few historical documents from the 16th and 17th centuries in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. One notable figure was Shmuel BURSTYN, a respected rabbi and Talmudic scholar who lived in the city of Lublin in the late 16th century.
As the Jewish diaspora spread across Eastern Europe and beyond, the BURSTYN name traveled with them. In the 19th century, we find examples of the surname in various regions, including Abraham BURSTYN, a merchant from Odessa, Russia (born circa 1820), and Leah BURSTYN, a writer and activist from Galicia (now part of Ukraine) who advocated for women's rights and education (1828-1901).
The 20th century saw the BURSTYN name carried by individuals in diverse fields. One notable bearer was Joseph BURSTYN, a Russian-American film distributor who fought for the First Amendment rights of filmmakers in the United States (1892-1953). Another was the Polish-born American actor and director Emanuel Hirsch BURSTYN (1910-1987), known for his work in Yiddish theater and films.
Other notable figures with the BURSTYN surname include Edith BURSTYN, an Austrian-American social worker and activist who advocated for the rights of the disabled (1916-2004), and Ellen BURSTYN, the acclaimed American actress and winner of an Academy Award for her role in the 1974 film "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore" (born 1932).
While the exact origins of the BURSTYN surname may be obscured by time, it has a rich history spanning centuries and continents, carried by individuals who have left their mark in various fields, from religion and literature to film and activism.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Burstyn
Among Census respondents with the surname Burstyn, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Burstyn 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 Burstyn surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.0% · 162
- Hispanic or Latino6.0% · 11
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.7% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 2
- Two or more races1.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Burstyn
Burstyn 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
#100,791
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 179
-8 bearers (-4.3%)
Per 100,000 0.06
Rank movement Down 9,387 places
2020
#104,723
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 182
+3 bearers (+1.7%)
Per 100,000 0.06
Rank movement Down 3,932 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #91,404 | 187 | 0.07 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #100,791 | 179 | 0.06 | -8 bearers (-4.3%) | Down 9,387 places |
| 2020 | #104,723 | 182 | 0.06 | +3 bearers (+1.7%) | Down 3,932 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 Burstyn 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 | #100,791 | #104,723 | -3.9% |
| Count | 179 | 182 | 1.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.06 | 0.06 | 1.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Burstyn bearers went from 179 to 182 (+1.7% change). The surname moved down 3,932 positions in the national ranking, going from #100,791 to #104,723.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Burstyn
FAQ
Burstyn surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Burstyn?
Name Census estimates that about 209 living Americans carry the surname Burstyn. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,639,973 residents.
How common is Burstyn?
Burstyn ranks #104,723 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.06 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 182 people with the surname Burstyn. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (209), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.06 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.06 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Burstyn.
Has Burstyn become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Burstyn went from 179 recorded bearers to 182. That is an increase of 3 (+1.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #100,791 to #104,723.
What does the Census say about the background of Burstyn?
Among Census respondents with the surname Burstyn, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.7%). 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 Burstyn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.0% (162 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Burstyn appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.0%), Hispanic (6.0%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.7%). 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 Burstyn (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 Burstyn mean?
A Slavic surname possibly derived from the German word "Burst" meaning "brush" or "bristle". 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 Burstyn (0.06 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 have the last name Burstyn?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the last name Burstyn on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.