Burkes
A surname usually linked to the Anglo-Norman Burgh/De Burgh family name, with Burkes often reflecting an Irish branch or plural family form.
The #8,655 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 81,334 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Burkes is generally understood as a surname connected with Burgh, Burke, or de Burgh, a name built on the old word for a fortified place or borough. In the medieval record, Burke was often treated as a shortened or altered form of de Burgh, and some writers explain Burkes as a plural or family form of that name. In Ireland, the great de Burgh family became the Burkes, and later Irish usage could extend the surname in plural or clan-like form.
History
Historical sources strongly associate the name with the Anglo-Norman de Burgh family, especially in Ireland, where the Burkes became one of the major Anglo-Norman landed families in Connacht. Some Irish families also adopted Gaelic-style forms such as Mac William, but Burke remained the best-known surname form in English. The spelling Burkes is less common than Burke and may reflect a pluralized family usage or a later surname variant in English-speaking countries.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Some 19th-century writers explicitly grouped Burkes with other surname spellings descending from the old word for a borough or fortified place.
From the historical record
“lowe in the liberty of Shrewsbury, 1231.' — Burkes Peerage. ONTHANK for Unthank, q.v. ONWHYN (13th cent. Onwinne) for Unwin, q.v.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)