Burns Family History

Burns Surname Meaning

Scottish (central Scotland and northern England): habitational name from any of various places called formerly Burnis Burnes or Burnhouse (named with burn- ‘stream’) especially those in Kincardineshire Renfrewshire Dunbartonshire and possibly Argyll.

English and Scottish: variant either of Burn with post-medieval excrescent -s or of Barnes.

Irish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Broin (see Byrne) with excrescent -s.

American shortened and altered form of Jewish Bernstein.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022

Similar surnames: Bourns, Buras, Duris, Buren, Beans, Burn, Berns, Borns, Burne, Burry

1M	Birth, Marriage, and Deaths
216K	Military Records
150K	Immigration Records
1M	Census and Voter Lists
1M	Member Trees

Search for a relative to learn more about your family history.

Where is the Burns family from?

You can see how Burns families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Burns family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Burns families were found in USA in 1880. In 1911 there were 1,842 Burns families living in Ontario. This was about 47% of all the recorded Burns's in Canada. Ontario had the highest population of Burns families in 1911.

Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Burns surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.

View Census Data for Burns

What did your Burns ancestors do for a living?

In 1921, Farmer and Stenographer were the top reported jobs for men and women in the Canada named Burns. 30% of Burns men worked as a Farmer and 12% of Burns women worked as a Stenographer. Some less common occupations for Americans named Burns were Clerk and Teacher.

View Census Data for Burns

Data not to scale

We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Farmer

30%

Labourer

11%

Laborer

Clerk

Stenographer

12%

Housekeeper

10%

Student

Teacher

What Burns family records will you find?

Census Record

There are 1M census records available for the last name Burns. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Burns census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search Canadian census records for Burns

Passenger List

There are 150K immigration records available for the last name Burns. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in Canada, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

View all Burns immigration records

Military Records

There are 216K military records available for the last name Burns. For the veterans among your Burns ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

View all Burns military records

You've only scratched the surface of Burns family history

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What is the average Burns lifespan?

Between 1940 and 2004, in the United States, Burns life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1945, and highest in 2000. The average life expectancy for Burns in 1940 was 40, and 74 in 2004.

Discover the unique achievements of ancestors in the Burns family tree

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Burns Surname Meaning

English and Scottish: variant either of Burn with post-medieval excrescent -s or of Barnes.

Irish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Broin (see Byrne) with excrescent -s.

American shortened and altered form of Jewish Bernstein.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022

Where is the Burns family from?

What did your Burns ancestors do for a living?

Data not to scale

We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Farmer

30%

Labourer

11%

Laborer

Clerk

Stenographer

12%

Housekeeper

10%

Student

Teacher

What Burns family records will you find?

What is the average Burns lifespan?

Between 1940 and 2004, in the United States, Burns life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1945, and highest in 2000. The average life expectancy for Burns in 1940 was 40, and 74 in 2004.

Burns Family History

Burns Surname Meaning

4 million record(s) for Burns

Search for a relative to learn more about your family history.

Where is the Burns family from?

What did your Burns ancestors do for a living?

Top Male Occupations In 1921

Top Female Occupations In 1921

What Burns family records will you find?

Census Record

Passenger List

Military Records

You've only scratched the surface of Burns family history

What is the average Burns lifespan?

Discover the unique achievements of ancestors in the Burns family tree

Search for another surname

Burns Surname Meaning

4 million record(s) for Burns

Search for a relative to learn more about your family history.

Where is the Burns family from?

What did your Burns ancestors do for a living?

Top Male Occupations In 1921

Top Female Occupations In 1921

What Burns family records will you find?

Census Record

Passenger List

Military Records

You've only scratched the surface of Burns family history

What is the average Burns lifespan?

Discover the unique achievements of ancestors in the Burns family tree

Search for another surname