Burnham
A surname most often taken from English place-names meaning “the homestead by the burn/stream.”
The #2,315 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 19,572 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Burnham is a habitational surname, taken from one of several English places called Burnham, especially in Norfolk, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Somerset, and elsewhere. The name is usually explained from Old English burna or burne, meaning “stream” or “spring,” plus hām, meaning “homestead,” “village,” or “estate.” In that sense, it originally meant a settlement by a stream. Older writers sometimes proposed other local meanings, but the stream-side interpretation is the standard one.
History
The name appears in records as people were identified by the English parish or village they came from. Because several places share the name Burnham, the surname could arise independently in more than one county. It later spread beyond England through migration, especially to North America.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Burnham is one of those surnames that could point to several different English villages rather than just one family line.
From the historical record
“ford. BURNHAM. Parishes In cos. Bucks, Essex, Somerset, Norfolk, &c. BURNINGHAM. Brlningliam, co. Nor- folk. BURNMAN. See Bourn and Man. BURNSIDE. Ylllages in the shires of Fife, Nairn, and Kincardine. BURNUP. Probably Burnhope, a local”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom