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Burnham History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Suggested Reading Citations

Burnham History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The ancient history of the Burnham name begins with the ancient Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. The name is derived from when the family resided in any of the various places called Burnham in Buckinghamshire, Essex, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, or Suffolk. These place names derive from the Old English words burna or stream, and ham, or homestead.

Early Origins of the Burnham family

The surname Burnham was first found in Herefordshire where they held a family seat from very ancient times, some say well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D.

Early History of the Burnham family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Burnham research. Another 49 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1619 and 1688 are included under the topic Early Burnham History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Burnham Spelling Variations

Until quite recently, the English language has lacked a definite system of spelling rules. Consequently, Anglo-Saxon surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. Changes in Anglo-Saxon names were influenced by the evolution of the English language, as it incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other languages. Although Medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, so it is common to find one person referred to by several different spellings of his surname, even the most literate people varied the spelling of their own names. Variations of the name Burnham include Burnham, Burnam and others.

Early Notables of the Burnham family

Notables of this surname at this time include:

Thomas Burnham of Hereford

Burnham Ranking

In the United States, the name Burnham is the 2,132^nd most popular surname with an estimated 14,922 people with that name. 1

Burnham migration to the United States +

Searching for a better life, many English families migrated to British colonies. Unfortunately, the majority of them traveled under extremely harsh conditions: overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the ocean. For those families that arrived safely, modest prosperity was attainable, and many went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the new colonies. Research into the origins of individual families in North America revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Burnham or a variant listed above:

Burnham Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

John Burnham, who landed in Maine in 1635 aboard the ship "Angel Gabriel" nephew of the Master of the ship 2
Robert Burnham, who landed in Maine in 1635 aboard the ship "Angel Gabriel" nephew of the Master of the ship 2
Thomas Burnham, who landed in Maine in 1635 aboard the ship "Angel Gabriel" nephew of the Master of the ship 2
John Burnham, who landed in Ipswich, Massachusetts in 1638 2
Rowland Burnham, who arrived in Virginia in 1639 2
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Burnham Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

John Burnham, who settled in Potomac Maryland in 1731

Burnham Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

William Burnham, who arrived in New Orleans in 1823
Stephen Burnham, who arrived in Texas in 1835 2
L Burnham, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1850 2

Burnham migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Burnham Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Hiram Burnham, who arrived in Canada in 1828

Burnham migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Burnham Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Edward Burnham, English convict who was convicted in Buckinghamshire, England for life, transported aboard the "Aurora" on 18th June 1835, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 3
Mr. James Burnham, Jr., English convict who was convicted in Buckinghamshire, England for life, transported aboard the "Aurora" on 18th June 1835, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 3
Mr. William Burnham, English convict who was convicted in Buckinghamshire, England for life, transported aboard the "Aurora" on 18th June 1835, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 3
Mr. James Burnham, British Convict who was convicted in Quebec, Canada for life, transported aboard the "Bengal Merchant" on 24th March 1838, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he died in 1886 4

Burnham migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Burnham Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Charles Burnham, aged 30, a farm labourer, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Avalanche" in 1875
Mary Burnham, aged 31, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Avalanche" in 1875
Hannah Burnham, aged 13, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Avalanche" in 1875
Wlater Burnham, aged 8, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Avalanche" in 1875
Charlotte Burnham, aged 5, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Avalanche" in 1875
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Burnham migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 5

Burnham Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Thomas Burnham, who settled in Barbados in 1635
William Burnham, who arrived at St. Christopher (Saint Kitts) in 1635
Tho Burnham, aged 18, who landed in Barbados in 1635 2
Mr. William Burnham, (b. 1614), aged 21, British settler traveling aboard the ship "William and John" arriving in St Christopher (Saint Kitts) in 1635 6

Contemporary Notables of the name Burnham (post 1700) +

James Burnham (1905-1987), American political theorist and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom
Walter Dean Burnham (1930-2022), American political scientist, an expert on elections and voting patterns, known for his quantitative analysis of national trends and patterns in the popular vote and the development of the "Party Systems" model
Kevin Lobdell Burnham (1956-2020), American two-time Olympic medalist in the sport of sailing
Zacheus Burnham (1777-1857), American-born, Canadian farmer, judge and politician, Member of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada for Northumberland and Durham (1816-1820)
Sherburne Wesley Burnham (1838-1921), American astronomer
George Walter "Watch" Burnham (1860-1902), American umpire and manager in Major League Baseball
Captain Russell Adam Burnham (b. 1979), U.S. Army Physician Assistant, the 2003 U.S. Army Soldier of the Year, 2007 U.S. Army Medical Corps NCO of the Year and an Eagle Scout
Lt. Howard Mather Burnham (1842-1863), American officer known for having fought and died at the Battle of Chickamauga in Georgia, during the American Civil War
Henry Eben Burnham (1844-1917), American politician, United States Senator from New Hampshire (1909-1913)
George Burnham (1868-1939), American banker and Republican politician, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California (1933-1937)
... (Another 79 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Burnham family +

HMS Royal Oak

Peter Burnham (1921-1939), British Seaman with the Royal Navy aboard the HMS Royal Oak (1939) when she was torpedoed by U-47 and sunk; he died in the sinking 7

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 20th August 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/aurora
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 13th October 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/bengal-merchant
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
Pilgrim Ship's of 1600's (Retrieved October 4th 2021 from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
Ships hit by U-boats crew list HMS Royal Oak (08) - (Retrieved 2018 February, 9th) - retrieved from https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/crews/ship68.html