Burgess Surname Meaning & Origin
What the Burgess last name means, where the surname began and how it spread.
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Meaning and origin of the Burgess last name
Meaning of the Burgess last name: citizen of a borough. Burgess comes from an old French word for a citizen of a borough. A burgess was a free townsman with the right to trade and a voice in the town's affairs. A curious detail: the word later meant a town's member of Parliament, so the name carries a hint of local pride. It is common across southern England and the Midlands, and many Burgesses settled early in Virginia and Maryland.
Arms associated with the Burgess name
In medieval England colours carried meaning, with blue for loyalty and red for courage, and arms used by Burgess families draw on that language.
Get your full Burgess family history
This is only a glimpse of the Burgess story. The full Burgess history report goes much deeper into where the name began, who carried it and how the family spread, and it comes with a museum-style painted Burgess coat of arms. Get the full Burgess report.
Burgess name FAQ
What does the Burgess name mean?
Citizen of a borough. Common variants include Burgis, Burges, Bourgeois.
Where does the Burgess surname come from?
It originates in England, and is also found in the United States, Australia and Canada.
Is there a Burgess coat of arms?
Arms were granted to individuals rather than to everyone with a surname. Herald Lab paints a personalized Burgess coat of arms in museum style, based on historic heraldry.
Researched by Herald Lab Research Studio, since 1993. Sources: Reaney & Wilson, Dictionary of English Surnames; Dictionary of American Family Names (Oxford); US Census Bureau 2010.