BURROW
The surname Burrow is an English family name of Anglo‑Saxon origin, deriving from the Old English word burh which means a fortification or fortified place. Its earliest recorded forms are found in the 13th century, exemplified by the name John atte Boroghe in the Subsidy Rolls of Somerset (1327) during the reign of King Edward I.
Burrow is traditionally understood either as a topographical name for a person who lived near a hill or hill‑fort, or as a habitational name for someone from a locality called Burrow or Burrough. In some cases the place names are recorded in the Domesday Book, for example Burrow in Leicestershire as “Burg” (1086), the Lancashire site near Lancaster as “Burg” (1200) in the Cockersand Chartulary, and Burrow in Lancashire as “Borch” (1086). Several of these sites were associated with Roman forts or roads, thereby reinforcing the fortified connotation of the name.
In parallel, the Old English word beorg, meaning hill or mountain, appears in place names such as Burrow in Somerset and Devon. Consequently, some bearers of the name may have originally been described as living by a hill or a fort. The morphological evolution of the name has produced a range of spellings, including Burrow, Burrough, Burrows, Borrow, and the less common Burr, Borr, and Burro.
Historical church records further corroborate the usage of the name in the late 16th century. On 19 August 1576, John, son of Thomas Burrow, was christened at St. Mary the Virgin in Aldermanbury, London. A further record from 16 November 1589 shows Job, son of Richard Burrow, christened at St. Dunstan's, Stepney, also in London.
During the 13th century, documents show a peak in the appearance of surnames such as Burrows, Barrat, and Barrow, suggesting a period of expansion and resettlement when the name proliferated across several English regions. By the 19th and 20th centuries, the name was primarily concentrated in the United Kingdom, with the highest frequencies found in Lancashire and the West Midlands. In the 21st century, it remains most common in England, with notable minorities in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and in countries with substantial British diaspora, particularly the United States, Australia, and Canada.
Modern genealogical research has identified the Burrow name as a pleonastic toponym, that is, a surname derived from a place name. As a result, many contemporary bearers may trace their lineage to locations such as Barrow, Borough, Borrowdale, Bury, Burrington, and Burton. Furthermore, the name shares phonetic and orthographic similarities with other surnames that share a common origin, for example Barret, Berre, Berros, and Burnett. Variants that appear in historical records include Burr, Borr, Burro, Burrrowe, Burrough, Burrowes, Burroway, Burrue, and Burrewe.
In sum, the surname Burrow is firmly rooted in English linguistic and geographic history. Its derivation from the Old English terms for fortification or hill, its early medieval records, and its varied spellings across time collectively serve as evidence of its longstanding presence within the English-speaking world.
Typical given names associated with the Burrow surname
Male
- Andrew
- David
- James
- John
- Mark
- Michael
- Paul
- Richard
- Robert
- Stephen
Female
- Claire
- Elizabeth
- Emma
- Helen
- Hilary
- Janet
- Jean
- Margaret
- Mary
- Patricia
- Sarah
- Susan
Similar and related surnames
- Bairo
- Baro
- Baroo
- Barou
- Barow
- Barro
- Barros
- Barrou
- Barrough
- Barrow
- Barroway
- Barrowes
- Barrows
- Baru
- Bauros
- Bearo
- Beiro
- Bero
- Berou
- Berro
- Berrow
- Berrows
- Biro
- Birro
- Birru
- Biru
- Boaro
- Boro
- Borow
- Borowa
- Borows
- Borowy
- Borrough
- Borrow
- Bouros
- Bourous
- Bur
- Burbrow
- Bureau
- Burgh
- Buro
- Burough
- Buroughs
- Burow
- Burows
- Burr
- Burre
- Burrews
- Burro
- Burron
- Burrons
- Burros
- Burrough
- Burroughes
- Burroughs
- Burrous
- Burroway
- Burrowes
- Burrowghs
- Burrows
- Burrrows
- Burrs
- Burrus
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Burrow in...
Braille
⠃⠥⠗⠗⠕⠺
Morse
-.....-.-..-.---.--
Semaphore
There are approximately 2,812 people named Burrow in the UK. That makes it roughly the 3,177th most common surname in Britain. Around 43 in a million people in Britain are named Burrow.
Origin: English
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: England
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: English
Famous people named Burrow
- Rob Burrow - Rugby league player
- J. W. Burrow - Historian (1935 to 2009)
- Thomas Burrow - Indologist (1909 to 1986)
- Trigant Burrow - American psychiatrist (1875 to 1950)
- Reuben Burrow - Mathematician and orientalist (1747 to 1792)
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.