NameCensus.

UK surname

Burfoot

A surname indicating an ancestor walked bare-footed or practiced the profession of foot messenger.

In the 1881 census there were 329 people recorded with the Burfoot surname, ranking it #9,107 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 379, ranked #12,371, down from #9,107 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff, Greenwich and Eton. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Wyre, Tandridge and Croydon.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Burfoot is 461 in 1998. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 15.2%.

1881 census count

329

Ranked #9,107

Modern count

379

2016, ranked #12,371

Peak year

1998

461 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Burfoot had 329 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #9,107 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 379 in 2016, ranked #12,371.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 449 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Burfoot surname distribution map

The map shows where the Burfoot surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Burfoot surname density by area, 1881 census.

Loading map
Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Burfoot over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 179 #11,346
1861 historical 149 #15,373
1881 historical 329 #9,107
1891 historical 339 #10,089
1901 historical 449 #8,717
1911 historical 443 #8,611
1997 modern 438 #10,282
1998 modern 461 #10,220
1999 modern 456 #10,354
2000 modern 448 #10,477
2001 modern 442 #10,388
2002 modern 451 #10,429
2003 modern 429 #10,684
2004 modern 437 #10,557
2005 modern 430 #10,575
2006 modern 418 #10,861
2007 modern 417 #11,001
2008 modern 418 #11,083
2009 modern 419 #11,282
2010 modern 408 #11,804
2011 modern 406 #11,730
2012 modern 400 #11,726
2013 modern 396 #12,015
2014 modern 404 #11,906
2015 modern 389 #12,165
2016 modern 379 #12,371

Geography

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Where Burfoots are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff, Greenwich, Eton, Tunbridge, Bidborough and London parishes. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Wyre, Tandridge, Croydon, Dudley and Bristol. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Some modern areas include a three-digit suffix, such as Leeds 110. The suffix is a small-area code, so it stays in the table while the prose uses the plain place name.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff Gloucestershire
2 Greenwich London (South Districts)
3 Eton Buckinghamshire
4 Tunbridge, Bidborough Kent
5 London parishes London 3

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Wyre 004 Wyre
2 Tandridge 007 Tandridge
3 Croydon 032 Croydon
4 Dudley 001 Dudley
5 Bristol 033 Bristol, City of

Forenames

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First names often paired with Burfoot

These lists show first names that appear often with the Burfoot surname in historical and recent records.

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Burfoot

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Burfoot, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities

Group

Rural Amenity

Nationally, the Burfoot surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Rural Amenity, within Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities. This does not mean every Burfoot household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

This Group comprises older parents or retirees, with no resident dependent children, and with the lowest residential densities in this Supergroup. Predominantly UK-born, residents typically live in detached houses, although others do live in semi-detached and terraced properties. The level of multiple car ownership is the highest in this Supergroup. Most houses are owner occupied although social renting is also present. Many concentrations occur in high amenity rural locations, such as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Wider pattern

Pervasive throughout the UK, members of this Supergroup typically own (or are buying) their detached, semi-detached or terraced homes. They are also typically educated to A Level/Highers or degree level and work in skilled or professional occupations. Typically born in the UK, some families have children, although the median adult age is above 45 and some property has become under-occupied after children have left home. This Supergroup is pervasive not only in suburban locations, but also in neighbourhoods at or beyond the edge of cities that adjoin rural parts of the country.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Older Residents in Owner-Occupied Suburbs

Group

London Fringe

Within London, Burfoot is most associated with areas classed as London Fringe, part of Older Residents in Owner-Occupied Suburbs. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Predominantly located in neighbourhoods on the outskirts of Greater London, residents of these neighbourhoods typically have their highest qualifications below degree (Level 4) level, with those still in work engaged in skilled trades and occupations in distribution, hotels and restaurants. There is low ethnic diversity in these neighbourhoods and high levels of Christian religious affiliation. Detached or terraced houses predominate, often with spare rooms.

Wider London pattern

The age distribution of these neighbourhoods is skewed towards the middle-aged and old, although few residents live alone or in communal establishments and numbers of dependent children are around average. Owner occupation is the norm, as is residence in detached or semi-detached houses. Residential densities are low and many households have spare rooms. Most residents were born in the UK and, aside from some identifying as members of Chinese or Indian ethnicities, identify as White. Mixed ethnicity households are rare. Incidence of married couples is higher than average and few individuals have never been married. A large proportion of individuals still in employment work in administrative and secretarial occupations, or in the construction industry. Few residents are students, and many households own more than one car.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Burfoot is most concentrated in decile 5 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname near the middle of the scale.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

5
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Burfoot falls in decile 10 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the less deprived end of the index.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

10
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Burfoot is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 30-40 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

6
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Burfoot, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Burfoot

The surname Burfoot is of English origin and dates back to the late 12th century. It is a locational name derived from the Old English words "burh" meaning fort or fortified manor house and "fot" meaning foot or ground, essentially meaning "at the foot of the manor house".

The name is first recorded in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire in 1188, where it appears as "Burfot". Other early spellings include Burfute, Burfotus, and Burefot. The name was relatively common in areas around Yorkshire and Lancashire, where many of the earliest recorded bearers of the name lived.

One of the earliest known bearers of the name was William Burfoot, who is mentioned in the Assize Court Rolls of Yorkshire in 1219. Another early record is that of John Burfot, who was listed in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1273.

The Burfoot name is also found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as a place name referring to a now lost settlement near Wakefield in Yorkshire. This suggests that the surname may have originated as a habitational name for someone who lived near this location.

Over the centuries, several notable individuals have borne the Burfoot surname. These include Sir John Burfoot (1530-1595), an English landowner and Member of Parliament for Nottinghamshire, and Robert Burfoot (1593-1672), an English clergyman and author who served as the Rector of Milstead in Kent.

Other individuals of note include William Burfoot (1787-1861), an English farmer and author of "The Farmer's Encyclopaedia", and John Burfoot (1805-1876), an English landscape painter who was particularly known for his depictions of rural scenes in Yorkshire.

In the United States, one of the earliest recorded bearers of the Burfoot name was John Burfoot, who arrived in Virginia in 1635. His descendant, Major Joseph Burfoot (1686-1757), was a prominent landowner and military officer in colonial Virginia.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Burfoot families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Burfoot surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Kent leads with 74 Burfoots recorded in 1881 and an index of 6.76x.

County Total Index
Kent 74 6.76x
Berkshire 59 24.49x
Surrey 37 2.37x
Middlesex 36 1.12x
Sussex 32 5.91x
Buckinghamshire 23 11.86x
Gloucestershire 20 3.18x
Staffordshire 17 1.57x
Hampshire 14 2.13x
Leicestershire 12 3.37x
Lincolnshire 2 0.39x
Oxfordshire 2 1.01x
Wiltshire 1 0.35x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Tonbridge in Kent leads with 20 Burfoots recorded in 1881 and an index of 50.65x.

Place Total Index
Tonbridge 20 50.65x
Wargrave 19 917.87x
Darlaston 15 100.20x
Greenwich 14 27.40x
St Marylebone London 13 7.59x
Bristol St Philip Jacob 12 20.25x
Camberwell 12 5.85x
Husbands Bosworth 12 1318.68x
Cookham 11 146.47x
Southwark Christchurch 11 73.14x
Eton 10 227.27x
Hurley 10 800.00x
New Windsor 10 123.46x
Aldershot 8 36.31x
Burnham 8 323.89x
Chelsea London 8 8.27x
Clewer 8 81.05x
Cowden 8 1111.11x
Croydon 7 8.06x
New Shoreham 7 216.05x
East Grinstead 6 78.33x
Lewisham 6 10.28x
Sundridge 6 327.87x
Hedgerley Dean 5 2272.73x
Islington London 5 1.61x
Penshurst 5 271.74x
Ringmer 5 328.95x
Woolwich 5 12.36x
Acton 4 21.27x
Bristol St George 4 13.74x
Egham 4 41.67x
Hartfield 4 233.92x
Withyam 4 172.41x
Bristol St Stephen 3 184.05x
Deptford St Paul 3 3.55x
Whippingham 3 60.24x
Cowfold 2 175.44x
Fringford 2 444.44x
Great Grimsby 2 6.14x
Hadlow 2 73.53x
Hampstead London 2 4.00x
Hove 2 8.42x
Ash Next Sandwich 1 41.32x
Aylesford 1 33.00x
Battersea 1 0.85x
Bristol St James In 1 10.80x
Chevening 1 84.03x
Ealing 1 3.49x
Farnborough 1 14.47x
Guildford St Nicholas 1 36.23x
Horne 1 129.87x
Itchen Abbas 1 344.83x
Maidstone 1 3.07x
Ryde 1 7.08x
Sonning 1 37.59x
St George Martyr London 1 15.38x
St Swithin London Stone 1 1250.00x
Twickenham 1 7.27x
Wadhurst 1 28.17x
Walmer 1 21.01x
Walsall Foreign 1 1.79x
Wardour 1 120.48x
West Bromwich 1 1.61x
Wisborough Green 1 54.95x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Burfoot surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
Mary 15
Elizabeth 12
Emma 10
Sarah 10
Alice 8
Eliza 8
Martha 8
Ann 5
Emily 5
Jane 5
Hannah 4
Louisa 4
Matilda 4
Rose 4
Agnes 3
Caroline 3
Ellen 3
Fanny 3
Ada 2
Annie 2
Charlotte 2
Edith 2
Frances 2
Grace 2
Harriet 2
Kate 2
Laura 2
Margaret 2
Rosa 2
Cecily 1
Emlor 1
Esther 1
Florence 1
Fredrica 1
Geo. 1
Georgina 1
Gertrude 1
Harriett 1
Hephzibah 1
Jessie 1
Leah 1
Lilian 1
Lily 1
Louie 1
Lydia 1
Margeret 1
Maryanna 1
Milly 1
Nancy 1
Susana 1

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Burfoot surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
William 19
John 15
George 14
Joseph 10
Thomas 10
Henry 9
Charles 8
David 7
Edward 6
Harry 6
Frank 4
Frederick 4
James 4
Albert 3
Alfred 3
Robert 3
Arthur 2
Christopher 2
Edwin 2
Francis 2
Fred 2
Jasper 2
Samuel 2
Wm. 2
Albt. 1
Alexander 1
Amos 1
Chas. 1
E. 1
Elisha 1
Ephraim 1
Ernest 1
Geo. 1
Horace 1
Jesse 1
Jno.Edward 1
Josh. 1
Mark 1
Richard 1
Roland 1
Sydney 1
Thos. 1
Walter 1
Wm.Geo.Henry 1

FAQ

Burfoot surname: questions and answers

How common was the Burfoot surname in 1881?

In 1881, 329 people were recorded with the Burfoot surname. That placed it at #9,107 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Burfoot surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 379 in 2016. That gives Burfoot a modern rank of #12,371.

What does the Burfoot surname mean?

A surname indicating an ancestor walked bare-footed or practiced the profession of foot messenger.

What does the Burfoot map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Burfoot bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.