Burns Family History

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Burns Name Meaning

Scottish and northern English: topographic name for someone who lived by a stream or streams, from the Middle English nominative plural or genitive singular of burn (see Bourne). Scottish: variant of Burnhouse, habitational name from a place named with burn ‘stream’ + house ‘house’. Irish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Broin (see Byrne). Jewish (American): Americanized and shortened form of Bernstein.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names ©2013, Oxford University Press


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

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Burns Family Origin

Where is the Burns family from?

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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 the USA in 1880. In 1891 there were 4,169 Burns families living in Lancashire. This was about 34% of all the recorded Burns's in the UK. Lancashire had the highest population of Burns families in 1891.
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

Burns Family Occupations

What did your Burns ancestors do for a living?

In 1881, a less common occupation for the Burns family was Housekeeper. The most common Burns occupation in the UK was Labourer. 6% of Burns's were Labourers. Labourer, Coal Miner and Charwoman were the top 3 reported jobs worked by Burns.

View Census data for Burns | Data not to scale

  • Labourer

    6%

  • Coal Miner

    4%

  • Charwoman

    1%

  • Housekeeper

    1%

Census records can tell you a lot of little known facts about your Burns ancestors, such as occupation. Occupation can tell you about your ancestor's social and economic status.

Burns Historical Records

What Burns family records will you find?

Census Record

There are 3,000 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 1891 UK census records for Burns

Passenger List

There are 642 immigration records available for the last name Burns. 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.

View all Burns immigration records

Draft Card

There are 1,000 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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Burns Life Expectancy

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.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Burns

An unusually short lifespan might indicate that your Burns 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.

Famous Burns Family Ancestors

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