The Burton surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 110,529 people carried this name — #280 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 2,670 people counted. That is up 3% from 107,158 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Burton surname
An English habitational surname from Old English for someone who lived in any of several places with that name.
Usually from Old English burhtun (fortified farmstead, farmstead near or belonging to a stronghold or manor), from burh + tun.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Burton» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 901 people named Burton live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Liège.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890
Ireland registered 10 births for the Burton name in 1890.
Most were registered in Leinster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 400 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “Dublin and Antrim.”
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born, 1890
Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 278 people named Burton.
64 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 31 départements, most often Haute-Marne.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 165 people named Burton live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
49 people named Burton live in Switzerland.
They live in 7 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.
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/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In Poland’s population register
29 people named Burton have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 93 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 7 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Lower Silesian.
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 the Nordic population registers
107 people named Burton are counted in Sweden and Finland.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown) · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In print
Burton in American newspapers,
1850–1916.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 792,496 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Burton,
with a public archive behind them.
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Ralph Burton d. 1768 · politician
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Thomas Burton d. 1458 · Catholic priest
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John T. Burton d. 1880 · politician
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David Burton d. 1792 · botanist
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Harry Burton d. 2009 · rugby league player
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William Burton d. 1438 · politician
Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Burton.
- Burrer 368 · U.S. census
- Burri 472 · U.S. census
- Burrus 4,094 · U.S. census
- Burson 5,082 · U.S. census
- Burst 377 · U.S. census
- Burtin 326 · U.S. census
- Burtscher 159 · U.S. census
- Bury 2,796 · U.S. census
- Burzynski 1,475 · U.S. census
- Bus 287 · U.S. census
- Busa 910 · U.S. census
- Buscaglia 524 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Burton 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.