The Burks surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 27,523 people carried this name — #1,278 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 10,700 people counted. That is up 5% from 26,115 in 2000.

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In print

Burks in American newspapers,
1858–1918.

Newspaper page from The Monroe Journal carrying the name Burks
The Monroe Journal 1918-03-05
Newspaper page from The Breckenridge News carrying the name Burks
The Breckenridge News 1915-07-21
Newspaper page from Holmes County Republican carrying the name Burks
Holmes County Republican 1858-09-30

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 223,044 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Burks in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1960s.

1,262 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Burks. The most, 170, date from the 1900s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in New South Wales, at 1.4 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 541
Victoria 247
Queensland 220
South Australia 130
Western Australia 62
Tasmania 57
ACT (Canberra) 2
Northern Territory 1

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Burks.

Who carried it

People named Burks,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Edward C. Burks
    Edward C. Burks 1821–1897 · judge
  • Martin P. Burks
    Martin P. Burks 1851–1928 · judge
  • Samuel Burks 1680–1756
  • Elizabeth Burks 1705–1756
  • H. Ray Burks 1889–1948 · architect
  • Arthur J. Burks 1898–1974 · writer

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Burks,
in the records of 7 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States1,202 records

1,202 records of the Burks name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 789
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 309
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 38
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 25
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 11
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 10
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 10
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 5
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 5
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Goldie Burks

    Born 1906 in Tennessee. Enlisted 1943 at Camp Forrest; driver. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1997, buried at Middle Tennessee State Veterans Cemetery, Nashville, Tennessee.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Mary Burks

    Arrived at New York in 1854 aboard the Benjamin Nevis from Liverpool, aged 17; servant. From Germany; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Jack D. Burks

    Born 1933; from Sandusky County, Ohio. U.S. Army, light weapons infantry leader; died of wounds 1953 in North Korea.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)

Showing 3 of 1,202 records for Burks in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain).

Netherlands243 records

243 records of the Burks name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 155
  • Dutch population registers 86
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 2
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Henderika Burks

    Married in 1884 in Almelo; factory worker. Died 1908 in Almelo, aged 51.

    Open Archives, Collectie Overijssel locatie Zwolle (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Cornelis Burks

    Married in 1885 in Vledder; labourer. Died 1951 in Coevorden, aged 88.

    Open Archives, Drents Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Guillaume Burks

    Married in 1880 in Rotterdam. Died 1928 in Rotterdam, aged 82.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 243 records for Burks in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Germany10 records

10 records of the Burks name in Germany Germany's First World War casualty lists, 1914–1919
  1. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Paul Bürks

    Born 1883; from Rosenberg. Reported taken prisoner in the Prussian casualty list of 4 January 1917.

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)
  2. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Heinrich Bürks

    From Bramsche, Bersenbrück. Reported wounded in the Prussian casualty list of 15 September 1915 (Infantry Regiment No. 78).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)
  3. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Albert Bürks

    From Hüls, Kempen. Reported wounded in the Prussian casualty list of 12 October 1917.

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)

Showing 3 of 10 records for Burks in Germany.

Counts: Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Deutsche Verlustlisten, Prussian list 1116, 18 April 1918 (scan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0).

Australia8 records

8 records of the Burks name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 4
  • Tasmanian Names Index 3
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 1
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Arthur Burks

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Buckingham in 1890.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Hillas Burks

    Retired of Portland, Victoria; died 1965.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Peter P. Burks

    Arrived in Victoria in 1892 aboard the Cuzco, aged 31.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 8 records for Burks in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Canada4 records

4 records of the Burks name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 3
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 1
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Lionel Burks

    Died 1942 in Short Lake, Colchester, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record Lionel Lodowick Burks

    Died in service in 1942.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Elizabeth Burks

    Married 1868 in Seal Harbour, Guysborough, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Showing 3 of 4 records for Burks in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

United Kingdom3 records

3 records of the Burks name in the United Kingdom War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record H. Burks

    Lincolnshire Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record F. Burks

    Yorkshire Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record H. J. Burks

    Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

France1 record

1 record of the Burks name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Jeannina Burks

    Born 1933 in Rouvroy; died 2001 in Lens (Pas-de-Calais).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Burks.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Burks is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

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