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Burgess
How to Pronounce Burgess
Pronounced BUR-jis /ˈbɜr.dʒɪs/High
Meaning: Burgess is a transferred English surname meaning a 'burgess' - a free citizen or townsman of a medieval borough (ultimately from the same root as 'borough' and 'bourgeois'). It moved into first-name use in the American surname-name tradition around the turn of the twentieth century.Medium
Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data
U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.
SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.
History & Origin
Burgess comes from the medieval status word for a free townsman, a citizen of a borough with civic rights. As a surname it became a first name in the American habit of turning family names into given names, and it had a modest run in the early twentieth century, later kept in view by actor Burgess Meredith.
It was always uncommon, cresting around 1922 with only a couple dozen boys a year and fading late in the century. A man named Burgess then is now of a great-grandparent generation; the name reads as a solid, slightly patrician antique surname-name.
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Frequently Asked
What does the name Burgess mean?
Burgess is an English surname-name meaning a 'freeman or citizen of a borough'.
How do you pronounce Burgess?
It's said BUR-jis /ˈbɜr.dʒɪs/, two syllables.
Is Burgess a boy or girl name?
Burgess is used as a boy's name.
How popular is Burgess?
Burgess has always been uncommon, an early-century surname-name.