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Burnette
How to Pronounce Burnette
Pronounced bur-NET /bərˈnɛt/Medium
Meaning: Burnette is a surname turned first name, from the Old French 'brunet', brown, a diminutive describing brown hair or complexion, the same root behind the word brunette. As a girl's name it may also have carried a faint echo of Bernadette. Its core meaning stays 'little brown one'.Low
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
Burnette is the surname built on Old French brunet, 'brown', pressed into use as a girl's given name in the American fashion for surname-names. Its softness and its '-ette' ending let it double as a feminine coinage in the vein of Jeanette and Nanette.
It stayed a rarity, a few dozen girls a year around its faint high in the early nineteen-twenties, fading by the nineteen-seventies. It shares its ending and era with Nettie, Jeanette and the boy's name Burnett.
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Frequently Asked
What does the name Burnette mean?
It comes from a French word for 'brown' or 'brown-haired', the same root as brunette.
How do you pronounce Burnette?
It's said bur-NET /bərˈnɛt/, two syllables, stress on the second.
Is Burnette a boy or girl name?
In these records Burnette is used as a girl's name.
Is Burnette a popular name?
No, it was always rare and faded from American records by the nineteen-seventies.