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Birness Family History

Birness Surname Meaning

Historically, surnames evolved as a way to sort people into groups - by occupation, place of origin, clan affiliation, patronage, parentage, adoption, and even physical characteristics (like red hair). Many of the modern surnames in the dictionary can be traced back to Britain and Ireland.


Similar surnames: Burness, Barnes, Burgess, Furness, Bines, Harness, Garness, Urness

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

Hint: Try searching for a relative alive in 1940.

Where is the Birness family from?

You can see how Birness families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Birness family name was found in Scotland in 1861. In 1861 there was 1 Birness family living in Aberdeenshire. This was 100% of all the recorded Birness's in Scotland. Aberdeenshire had the highest population of Birness families in 1861.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Birness surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.

What Birness family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 6 census records available for the last name Birness. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Birness census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search UK census records for Birness

Passenger Lists

There are 1 immigration records available for the last name Birness. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in the UK, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

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Draft Cards

There are 1,000 military records available for the last name Birness. For the veterans among your Birness ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

View all Birness military records

You've only scratched the surface of Birness family history

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What is the average Birness lifespan?

An unusually short lifespan might indicate that your Birness ancestors lived in harsh conditions. A short lifespan might also indicate health problems that were once prevalent in your family. The SSDI is a searchable database of more than 70 million names. You can find birthdates, death dates, addresses and more.

Discover the unique achievements of ancestors in the Birness family tree

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