The Burns surname
In the 2000 U.S. Census, 162,153 people carried this name — #141 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 1,660 people counted.
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In Switzerland’s population statistics
85 people named Burns live in Switzerland.
They live in 10 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Vaud.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 62 people named Burns.
30 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 3 départements, most often French Polynesia.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Poland’s population register
37 people named Burns have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 111 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 8 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Lesser Poland.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In print
Burns in American newspapers,
1859–1933.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 5,701,797 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Burns,
with a public archive behind them.
-
John Burns 1744–1839 · Christian minister -
John Burns 1775–1850 · surgeon -
James Burns 1789–1871 · businessperson -
Joseph Burns 1800–1875 · judge -
Francis Burns 1809–1863 · teacher
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 231 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Burns.
- Burki 271 · U.S. census
- Burle 168 · U.S. census
- Burlett 183 · U.S. census
- Burlin 321 · U.S. census
- Burner 2,164 · U.S. census
- Burnet 566 · U.S. census
- Buron 358 · U.S. census
- Burr 14,839 · U.S. census
- Burrer 380 · U.S. census
- Burri 445 · U.S. census
- Burrus 3,921 · U.S. census
- Burson 4,944 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Burns 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.