NameCensus.

UK surname

Burgher

An occupational surname referring to a townsman, burgess, or citizen of a borough.

In the 1881 census there were 22 people recorded with the Burgher surname, ranking it #30,464 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 149, ranked #23,844, up from #30,464 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to No data. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Kelso South, West Kirkwall and Haringey.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Burgher is 153 in 2013. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 577.3%.

1881 census count

22

Ranked #30,464

Modern count

149

2016, ranked #23,844

Peak year

2013

153 bearers

Map years

3

1998 to 2016

Key insights

  • Burgher had 22 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #30,464 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 149 in 2016, ranked #23,844.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 46 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Ethnically Diverse Families in Less Connected Locations.

Burgher surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Burgher surname density by area, 2016 modern.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Burgher 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 6 #32,278
1861 historical 33 #29,814
1881 historical 22 #30,464
1891 historical 31 #31,820
1901 historical 46 #29,047
1911 historical 6 #33,255
1997 modern 112 #25,244
1998 modern 120 #24,793
1999 modern 122 #24,745
2000 modern 127 #24,121
2001 modern 120 #24,615
2002 modern 125 #24,492
2003 modern 135 #23,155
2004 modern 133 #23,528
2005 modern 134 #23,406
2006 modern 135 #23,486
2007 modern 143 #22,924
2008 modern 144 #23,037
2009 modern 144 #23,577
2010 modern 149 #23,598
2011 modern 148 #23,520
2012 modern 147 #23,567
2013 modern 153 #23,314
2014 modern 152 #23,631
2015 modern 149 #23,817
2016 modern 149 #23,844

Geography

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Where Burghers are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around No data. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Kelso South, West Kirkwall, Haringey, Lambeth and Manchester. 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 No data No data

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Kelso South Scottish Borders
2 West Kirkwall Orkney Islands
3 Haringey 036 Haringey
4 Lambeth 030 Lambeth
5 Manchester 020 Manchester

Forenames

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First names often paired with Burgher

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Burgher

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Burgher, 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

Low-Skilled Migrant and Student Communities

Group

Ethnically Diverse Families in Less Connected Locations

Nationally, the Burgher surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Ethnically Diverse Families in Less Connected Locations, within Low-Skilled Migrant and Student Communities. This does not mean every Burgher 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 is often found in less central parts of London and other major towns and cities. Adults are more likely than the Supergroup average to have never been married and are typically aged less than 45 years. Many have young dependent children and individuals may have been born in Africa. There are many members identifying with a Black ethnic group, with the other ethnic groups (as listed in the glossary) also represented, though Chinese less so. Accommodation in flats, frequently socially rented, is common in these neighbourhoods. Part time employment is also common, and work is often in elementary occupations, while unemployment is also the highest within this Supergroup.

Wider pattern

Young adults, many of whom are students, predominate in these high-density and overcrowded neighbourhoods of rented terrace houses or flats. Most ethnic minorities are present in these communities, as are people born in European countries that are not part of the EU. Students aside, low skilled occupations predominate, and unemployment rates are above average. Overall, the mix of students and more sedentary households means that neighbourhood average numbers of children are not very high. The Mixed or Multiple ethnic group composition of neighbourhoods is often associated with low rates of affiliation to Christian religions. This Supergroup predominates in non-central urban locations the UK, particularly within England in the Midlands and the outskirts of west, south and north-east London.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Young Families and Mainstream Employment

Group

Social Rented Sector and Diverse Origins

Within London, Burgher is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector and Diverse Origins, part of Young Families and Mainstream Employment. 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

Scattered across London’s Inner and Outer suburbs, residents of these neighbourhoods are typically housed in the social rented sector. Although terraced and semi-detached houses predominate, more residents live in flats than elsewhere in the Supergroup. Neighbourhoods are more ethnically diverse than the Supergroup average. Those identifying as of Bangladeshi, Pakistani and some Black ethnicities are more prevalent. Europeans born in a overseas non-EU countries make up more of the lower proportion of residents identifying as White. Few residents are very old (85+). Employment in distribution, hotels and restaurants is more common than elsewhere in the Supergroup.

Wider London pattern

Many families in these neighbourhoods have young children. Housing is principally in the social rented sector, in terraced or semi-detached units. While over-all residential densities are low, overcrowding is also prevalent locally. Residents are drawn from a range of ethnic minorities, with many identifying as Black and above average numbers born in Africa. Numbers identifying as of Chinese, Indian or White ethnicity are below average. Levels of proficiency in English are below average. Levels of separation or divorce and incidence of disability are both above average. Education is typically limited to Level 1, 2, or apprenticeship qualifications. Few residents work in professional or managerial occupations but the employment structure is otherwise diverse: it includes skilled trades, caring, leisure and other service occupations, sales and customer service occupations, construction, and work as process, plant, and machine operatives.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Burgher is most concentrated in decile 10 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the healthier end of the index.

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

10
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Burgher falls in decile 1 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the more deprived end of the index.

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

1
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Burgher is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 50-60 mbit/s.

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

8
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
Other Ethnic Group

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

Meaning and origin of Burgher

The surname BURGHER originated in the medieval Low Countries, now part of modern-day Belgium and the Netherlands. It emerged in the early 13th century, derived from the Middle Dutch word "burchter" meaning a citizen or freeman of a town or borough.

The earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the coastal regions of Flanders and Zeeland, where merchants and tradesmen who held citizenship in the prosperous port cities were referred to as "burghers." This status afforded them certain privileges and rights within the city walls, distinguishing them from the landed nobility or peasantry.

One of the earliest known burghers was Willem van Burgher, a wealthy cloth merchant from Ghent, Flanders, who lived in the late 13th century. His family's coat of arms, featuring three golden towers on a blue field, can still be seen on the facade of the historic Burgher's House in Ghent's city center.

In the 14th century, the name appears in the records of the Hanseatic League, a powerful commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns across Northern Europe. The merchant Jan van Burgher, born in Bruges in 1324, was a prominent member of the Hanseatic League, trading goods throughout the Baltic and North Sea regions.

As the Dutch established colonies and trading outposts in the 17th and 18th centuries, the BURGHER name spread to places like the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa and the Dutch East Indies (modern-day Indonesia). Abraham Burgher, born in Amsterdam in 1642, was one of the early Dutch settlers in the Cape Colony and is considered an ancestor of many South African families with the BURGHER surname.

Another notable figure was the 18th-century Dutch philosopher and theologian Johannes Jacobus Burgher, born in 1734 in Leiden. He was a prominent figure in the Dutch Enlightenment and a vocal advocate for religious tolerance and free speech.

In the 19th century, the BURGHER name gained prominence in the United States through immigrants from the Low Countries. One example is the American politician and lawyer Gideon John Tucker Burgher, born in 1833 in New York, who served as a member of the New York State Assembly.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Burgher families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Burgher 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. Orkney leads with 20 Burghers recorded in 1881 and an index of 847.46x.

County Total Index
Orkney 20 847.46x
Midlothian 2 6.96x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Westray Papa Westray in Orkney leads with 15 Burghers recorded in 1881 and an index of 7894.74x.

Place Total Index
Westray Papa Westray 15 7894.74x
Cross Burness N 4 3333.33x
Stow 2 1333.33x
Kirkwall St Ola 1 285.71x

FAQ

Burgher surname: questions and answers

How common was the Burgher surname in 1881?

In 1881, 22 people were recorded with the Burgher surname. That placed it at #30,464 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Burgher surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 149 in 2016. That gives Burgher a modern rank of #23,844.

What does the Burgher surname mean?

An occupational surname referring to a townsman, burgess, or citizen of a borough.

What does the Burgher map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Burgher 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.