Given name & surname · also Germanic, Old French
Burgess
“a free citizen of the town”
Burgess is used as a given name and a surname. One German interpretation is “a free citizen of the town.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One German interpretation is “a free citizen of the town.”
Where it comes from
This spelling has been associated with Old French and Germanic naming traditions.
How it developed
It entered given-name use through an existing surname.
The story
Its naming history includes the use of a family name as a given name.
Burgess through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 1,089
- 1,089 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1922
- 28 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 7 in 2010. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 28 in 1922. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 566 as a first name in 2020; 70,718 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Burgess’s family of names
Burgess has a related form in Burgeis. Burgess has a related form in Burges. Burgess has a related form in Burgis.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 6
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
People named Burgess
- Burgess JenkinsAmerican actorborn 1973
- Burgess OwensAmerican politician and former football player (born 1951)
- Burgess Abernethyactorborn 1987
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Burgess, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Buster
“pockmark, boil”
>99% boys
Mayland
“milan”
>99% boys
Rector
Rector is a surname from German.
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Susano
“lily”
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Clovis
“a renowned warrior”
>99% boys
Bernard
“as strong and brave as a bear”
>99% boys
Wilbert
“one who is willful; a bright man”
>99% boys
Odell
“a sweet melody” · “one who is wealthy”
98% boys · 2% girls