Burnell
A surname probably from a nickname for a brownish or tawny complexion, though some early writers left the exact origin uncertain.
The #8,097 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 75,396 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The name is usually linked to Old French brun, meaning "brown" or "dark," with a diminutive ending, giving the sense of "little brown one" or a similar complexion-based nickname. Early surname scholars also suggested it may be a diminutive of Brun, and they treated it as part of the broader family of colour-based nicknames. However, the exact derivation was not entirely secure in older reference works.
History
Lower noted the name very early in England, citing a family connected with Acton Burnell in Shropshire and finding it in England by 1087. Bardsley also grouped it with other colour-based nicknames such as Brown, Blundell, and Brunell. The surname has remained established in Britain and later spread to English-speaking countries, including the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Acton Burnell in Shropshire preserves the surname in a place-name: the Burnell family left their mark on the landscape as well as in the records.
From the historical record
“BURNBY". A parish in Yorkshire. BURNELL. The etymon Is uncertain, unless it be a diminutive of Brun. The famil}', who gave the suffix to Acton Bur- nell, CO. Salop, are found in England so early as 1087. Dugdale. BURNETT. Probably a corruption of Bernard ; or it may be, by a transposition of letters not uncommon…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom