Surname Burwood - Meaning and Origin
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Burwood: What does the surname Burwood mean?
The last name Burwood is an English surname thought to have derived from a locality in Hampshire. It is believed to be derived from the Old English words "burh" and "wuda" which translates to "wood by a fort or castle". It likely describes a settlement that formed around a fortification in ancient England.
The Burwood surname is thought to have first appeared in records dating back to the thirteenth century in Hampshire. It is thought to be a habitation name which indicates an origin in a certain place. It is likely derived from a place of residence.
The Burwood surname is quite uncommon, not popularly found in any other country besides England. It can occasionally be found in parts of Canada and New Zealand in individuals who have traveled there from England. Today, the surname is not often used.
The Burwood surname typically has a strong connection to the English county of Hampshire. It is likely derived from forefathers who had a residence near an old fortress in the area. Although it is quite a rare surname, it has maintained its presence in British records for centuries.
Order DNA origin analysisBurwood: Where does the name Burwood come from?
The last name Burwood is most commonly found in South East England today. Originally derived from the Old English "burhwood" which means "fort wood", Burwood is believed to have been a habitation name from a place near the Burford in Dorset.
Burwood continues to be a fairly common surname today within the South East of England, mainly concentrated around Dorset, Hampshire and Surrey. However, it can also be found in a few other counties as well as overseas due to high immigration from the British Isles in the 19th and 20th centuries.
The earliest records of Burwood can be traced back to the 13th and 14th centuries, when it was found mainly around Dorset. The earliest known records of the surname dates back to 1273 when an Adam de Burwood is recorded in the Hundred Rolls of Lichfield Friary.
Other early records include Alexander of Burwood (1437) in the assorted records of the county of Dorset, and an Agnes Burwood in the 1582 Subsidy Roll of Somerset.
As of the 2020 census, the surname Burwood can be found in greater concentrations in the English counties of Hampshire, Surrey, Dorset and Oxfordshire, as well as around the town of Sutton-on-Sea, in Lincolnshire. It is also present, albeit in smaller numbers, in both Wales and Scotland. There are also numerous people scattered around the United States and Canada who bear the surname Burwood, primarily due to migration during the 19th and 20th centuries.
Variations of the surname Burwood
The surname Burwood is a toponymic surname derived from the Old English words ‘burh’ and ‘wuda’ which mean ‘fortified wood’. It is believed to refer to people who had ancestral ties with any of several places bearing similar names such as Burwood Park, Burwood Forest, etc.
The variant spellings of the surname Burwood can be Berwood, Burwode, Borwood, Barwood, and Boorwood. The German equivalent of the surname is Borwerk, and the French equivalent is de Bourvoir.
The Burwood surname is found among the bearers of many other surnames, such as Berwood, Boorwood, Borwood, Barwood, Burwoood, and Burwode. The surnames St. Barwood and St. Boorwood are conditional variants, as they are derived from places associated with Burwood.
The Burwood name is also part of the received surnames of some other families, such as Beeman, Burman, Bewman and Beamon. Burman is thought to be derived from the Old English words 'burh' and 'mann', which mean 'one who lived in a fortress'. Bewman and Beamon are more likely to be a combination of the Old English word 'burg' (fortified manor) and 'mann' (man).
Other surnames with the same origin as Burwood are Barrow, Barrowman, Barrowcliff and Burwell, which are all derived from Old English words, meaning either fortified manor or fortress. The surnames Bramwell and Burham also have roots in Burwood, as they are derived from the Old English words 'burh' and 'ham', meaning 'homestead'.
Famous people with the name Burwood
- Lara Bingle (Model, actress and presenter from Australia)
- Rowland Burwood (19th Century English caricaturist)
- Jane Burwood (19th-20th Century English actress)
- Graham Burwood (Film Actor and Editor from London)
- Arthur Burwood (British actor)
- Gordon Burwood (British artist)
- Wilfrid Burwood (British Impressionist artist)
- John Burwood (18th Century English organist and chorister)
- John Burwood (19th Century British major-general)
- Arthur Burwood (20th Century British film producer)