NameCensus.

UK surname

Burrows

From an English place name referring to a person who lived by a hill, mound, or burial place.

In the 1881 census there were 13,086 people recorded with the Burrows surname, ranking it #315 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 18,386, ranked #326, down from #315 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, Lenton, Radford, Papplewick, Nuthall, Greasley, Brewhouse Yard and Manchester. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include St. Helens.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Burrows is 19,064 in 1999. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 40.5%.

1881 census count

13,086

Ranked #315

Modern count

18,386

2016, ranked #326

Peak year

1999

19,064 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Burrows had 13,086 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #315 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 18,386 in 2016, ranked #326.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 17,985 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Burrows surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Burrows surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Burrows 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 7,162 #393
1861 historical 6,205 #450
1881 historical 13,086 #315
1891 historical 13,025 #335
1901 historical 16,411 #309
1911 historical 17,985 #257
1997 modern 18,313 #319
1998 modern 18,969 #320
1999 modern 19,064 #320
2000 modern 18,899 #321
2001 modern 18,480 #319
2002 modern 18,769 #322
2003 modern 18,368 #319
2004 modern 18,313 #322
2005 modern 17,929 #324
2006 modern 17,895 #324
2007 modern 18,034 #323
2008 modern 18,075 #323
2009 modern 18,410 #325
2010 modern 18,691 #325
2011 modern 18,470 #324
2012 modern 18,158 #326
2013 modern 18,517 #326
2014 modern 18,658 #326
2015 modern 18,501 #324
2016 modern 18,386 #326

Geography

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Where Burrows' are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, Lenton, Radford, Papplewick, Nuthall, Greasley, Brewhouse Yard and Manchester. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to St. Helens. 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 London parishes London 1
2 Lenton, Radford, Papplewick, Nuthall, Greasley, Brewhouse Yard Nottinghamshire
3 London parishes London 3
4 Manchester Lancashire
5 London parishes London 2

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 St. Helens 007 St. Helens
2 St. Helens 020 St. Helens
3 St. Helens 011 St. Helens
4 St. Helens 008 St. Helens
5 St. Helens 012 St. Helens

Forenames

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First names often paired with Burrows

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Burrows

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Burrows, 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 Burrows surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Rural Amenity, within Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities. This does not mean every Burrows 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

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Burrows is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers, part of The Greater London Mix. 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

Mainly located in Inner London, these neighbourhoods retain a diverse employment structure, with some concentration in associated professional and technical occupations rather than skilled trades or construction. Social renting is more common and levels of homeownership are low. Many residents identify as Black. There is a lower than average rate of marriage or civil partnership, few that are very old (85 or over) and higher than average incidence of disability.

Wider London pattern

A Supergroup embodying London's diversity in many respects, apart from low numbers of residents identifying as of Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani or Other (non-Chinese) Asian ethnicity. There is lower than average prevalence of families with dependent children, while there are above average occurrences of never-married individuals and single-person households. The age distribution is skewed towards younger, single residents and couples without children, with many individuals identifying as of mixed or multiple ethnicity. Social rented or private rented housing is slightly more prevalent than average, and many residents live in flats. Individuals typically work in professional and associated roles in public administration, education or health rather than in elementary occupations in agriculture, energy, water, construction or manufacturing. Incidence of students is slightly below average. Individuals declaring no religion are more prevalent than average and non-use of English at home is below average.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Burrows is most concentrated in decile 7 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.

7
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Burrows falls in decile 6 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname near the middle of the scale.

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

6
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Burrows 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 Burrows, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Burrows

The surname Burrows has its origins in England, with the earliest recorded use dating back to the 13th century. It is derived from the Old English word "burg," meaning a fortified town or dwelling place, and the word "hyll," meaning a hill. The name likely referred to someone who lived near or on a fortified hill or hillock.

The name is found in various early records and documents, including the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, which list individuals with the surname Burrows, or similar spellings such as Burghes or Burghys. The Domesday Book, compiled in 1086, does not contain the exact spelling "Burrows," but it does include names like "Burges" and "Borges," which may be related.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Burrows was John Burrows, who was mentioned in the Patent Rolls of 1324 as a merchant from the city of Bristol. Another early bearer of the name was Robert Burrows, a landowner from Cheshire, whose name appears in the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1392.

During the Middle Ages, the name Burrows was often associated with place names, particularly those derived from the Old English words "burg" and "hyll." For example, the village of Burrough in Leicestershire and the town of Burrough Green in Cambridgeshire may have given rise to the surname.

Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the surname Burrows. One of the earliest was Sir John Burrows (c. 1564-1641), an English lawyer and politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Ipswich and was a prominent figure during the reign of King Charles I.

Another notable bearer of the name was Reuben Burrows (1592-1648), an English clergyman and academic who served as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge from 1644 to 1645.

In the 18th century, William Burrows (1785-1813) was a British naval officer who served during the Napoleonic Wars and was killed in action during the Battle of Campeche Bay in 1813.

During the 19th century, George Burrows (1801-1887) was an English physician and writer who made significant contributions to the study of diseases of the brain and nervous system.

More recently, the American mathematician and computer scientist George W. Burrows (1917-2019) is known for his work in data compression and for co-inventing the Burrows-Wheeler transform, an algorithm used in data compression techniques.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Burrows families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Burrows 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. Lancashire leads with 2,561 Burrows' recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.69x.

County Total Index
Lancashire 2,561 1.69x
Middlesex 1,430 1.12x
Yorkshire 805 0.64x
Cheshire 597 2.11x
Nottinghamshire 578 3.35x
Surrey 568 0.91x
Suffolk 566 3.63x
Staffordshire 521 1.21x
Gloucestershire 398 1.59x
Warwickshire 384 1.19x
Kent 380 0.87x
Leicestershire 350 2.47x
Derbyshire 320 1.60x
Devon 296 1.11x
Lincolnshire 293 1.43x
Norfolk 268 1.36x
Somerset 262 1.27x
Essex 252 1.00x
Cornwall 242 1.67x
Hampshire 218 0.83x
Bedfordshire 190 2.87x
Northamptonshire 189 1.57x
Buckinghamshire 140 1.81x
Cambridgeshire 125 1.54x
Hertfordshire 83 0.94x
Worcestershire 83 0.50x
Berkshire 81 0.84x
Lanarkshire 81 0.20x
Durham 79 0.21x
Glamorgan 74 0.33x
Shropshire 70 0.63x
Oxfordshire 69 0.87x
Wiltshire 68 0.60x
Flintshire 60 1.75x
Dorset 59 0.70x
Cumberland 58 0.53x
Sussex 58 0.27x
Monmouthshire 47 0.51x
Brecknockshire 32 1.25x
Rutland 27 2.88x
Isle of Man 20 0.84x
Herefordshire 18 0.34x
Westmorland 13 0.46x
Northumberland 11 0.06x
Renfrewshire 11 0.11x
Denbighshire 10 0.21x
Huntingdonshire 9 0.35x
Midlothian 9 0.05x
Royal Navy 9 0.59x
Dunbartonshire 8 0.23x
Channel Islands 7 0.18x
Stirlingshire 6 0.13x
Angus 4 0.03x
Caernarfonshire 2 0.04x
Carmarthenshire 2 0.04x
Fife 2 0.03x
Anglesey 1 0.04x
Ayrshire 1 0.01x
Caithness 1 0.06x
Dumfriesshire 1 0.04x
Pembrokeshire 1 0.02x
West Lothian 1 0.05x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Aston in Warwickshire leads with 159 Burrows' recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.79x.

Place Total Index
Aston 159 1.79x
St Pancras London 150 1.46x
Nottingham St Mary 138 3.10x
Manchester 136 1.99x
Islington London 129 1.04x
Leicester St Margaret 116 3.36x
Salford 113 2.53x
Great Little Marsden 108 15.54x
Lambeth 106 0.95x
Burnley 98 7.67x
Sedgley 97 6.05x
Birmingham 87 0.81x
Windle 87 10.19x
Toxteth Park 86 1.67x
Habergham Eaves 81 5.84x
Greasley 80 20.57x
Shoreditch London 79 1.43x
Warrington 77 4.28x
Eccleston In Prescot 73 9.58x
St Marylebone London 73 1.07x
Kensington London 72 1.01x
Liverpool 72 0.78x
West Derby 72 1.62x
Bethnal Green London 68 1.22x
Everton 67 1.39x
Ilkeston 67 11.94x
Paddington London 64 1.36x
West Ham 64 1.15x
Preston 63 1.55x
Chelsea London 61 1.58x
Eastwood 61 39.58x
Blackburn 60 1.49x
Sutton 58 11.40x
Cheadle 57 10.57x
Battersea 54 1.15x
Newington 50 1.06x
Stoke Upon Trent 50 1.09x
Barnsley 49 3.75x
Ashton Under Lyne 48 1.45x
Camberwell 46 0.56x
Chorlton On Medlock 44 1.83x
Croydon 42 1.21x
Hackney London 42 0.59x
Kea 42 38.92x
Willenhall 42 5.19x
Northampton St Sepulchre 41 6.70x
Parr 41 7.55x
Billinge Chapel End 40 46.98x
Bradford 40 1.30x
Edmonton 40 3.88x
Deptford St Paul 39 1.16x
Feock 39 43.04x
Cheltenham 38 1.96x
Halifax 38 2.04x
Stockport 38 2.62x
Fulham London 37 2.00x
Minchinhampton 37 18.52x
Wednesbury 37 3.43x
Ardwick 35 2.56x
Bermondsey 35 0.92x
Leeds 35 0.49x
Portsea 34 0.66x
Sheffield 34 0.84x
St George Hanover Square 34 1.51x
Wharton 34 22.12x
Newchurch 33 2.66x
Stroud 33 6.76x
Hitchin 32 8.04x
Ipswich St Peter 32 15.26x
Pendleton In Salford 32 1.77x
Attercliffe Cum Darnall 31 2.63x
Ealing 30 2.63x
Headley 30 42.10x
Sherborne 30 12.14x
Wisbech St Mary 30 32.27x
Bootle Cum Linacre 29 2.41x
Haydock 29 11.09x
Hornsey 29 1.79x
Maryhill 29 3.58x
Southwark St George Martyr 29 1.13x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 889
Elizabeth 521
Sarah 501
Ann 266
Eliza 233
Ellen 231
Jane 221
Emma 203
Annie 187
Alice 175
Emily 136
Hannah 131
Martha 131
Margaret 99
Harriet 97
Louisa 87
Ada 83
Charlotte 83
Maria 82
Edith 77
Fanny 68
Lucy 60
Kate 59
Agnes 56
Florence 56
Frances 56
Clara 53
Caroline 52
Amelia 46
Catherine 46
Esther 43
Harriett 43
Susan 41
Eleanor 40
Gertrude 37
Anne 36
Minnie 31
Matilda 30
Isabella 29
Rose 29
Rebecca 25
Sophia 25
Elizth. 24
Susannah 24
Amy 21
Anna 21
Jessie 21
Julia 20
Maud 20
Nancy 20

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 910
John 753
Thomas 448
George 438
James 410
Joseph 274
Henry 271
Charles 245
Robert 162
Alfred 146
Arthur 146
Samuel 136
Richard 132
Edward 117
Walter 108
Frederick 105
Albert 84
Harry 83
Ernest 44
Frank 41
Edwin 40
Peter 37
Thos. 37
Wm. 37
Benjamin 36
Herbert 35
David 30
Francis 25
Isaac 25
Daniel 24
Fred 21
Abraham 19
Tom 18
Jesse 17
Stephen 15
Fredk. 14
Fredrick 14
Geo. 14
Sidney 14
Alexander 12
Mark 12
Robt. 12
Amos 11
Edmund 11
Joshua 11
Reuben 11
Edgar 10
Horace 10
J. 10
Willm. 10

Top occupations

Occupational titles are kept as recorded and later transcribed, so related jobs, spelling variants and mistakes stay separate. Scholar was the census term for a child in education. That means the other rows often tell you more about adult work in Burrows households.

FAQ

Burrows surname: questions and answers

How common was the Burrows surname in 1881?

In 1881, 13,086 people were recorded with the Burrows surname. That placed it at #315 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Burrows surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 18,386 in 2016. That gives Burrows a modern rank of #326.

What does the Burrows surname mean?

From an English place name referring to a person who lived by a hill, mound, or burial place.

What does the Burrows map show?

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