Show ContentsBurgen History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

When the ancestors of the Burgen family emigrated to England following the Norman Conquest in 1066 they brought their family name with them. They lived in Devon, where they held a family seat after the Norman Conquest of England in the 11th century. Originally from France, the name denoted a native of Burgundy as in 'de Burgoyne'. 1 2 3

Early Origins of the Burgen family

The surname Burgen was first found in the Pipe Rolls of 1160 which includes an entry for Robert Burguignon (no county provided.) Later in London, we found John le Burguinun in the Pipe Rolls of 1173 and on the Isle of Man, the Pipe Rolls there listed John le Burguinn in 1214. John Burgoynoun was recorded at Trentham, Staffordshire in 1330. 4

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 lists: John de Burgoyne, Somerset; Almaric Burgoyne, Bedfordshire; and John Burgoyn, Gloucestershire. 5 Richard Burgoyne, was Rector of Newton, Norfolk (no date given). 6

Farther to the north in Yorkshire, the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 included an entry for Elizabet de Burgon. 5

"William Burgoyn was chamberlain of the city of Exeter in 1496, and William Burgoyn was sheriff of that city in 1537. In the 16th and 17th centuries a gentle family of Burgoin resided at Bideford; and in the reign of George I., Thomas Burgoyne was a Bideford gentleman. In fact, as far back as the time of Henry VIII., Jeofferie Burgin was a Bideford townsman. During the 16th and 17th centuries a gentle family of Burgoin flourished in the hamlet of Zeal near South Tawton. Robert Burgoine, Esq., was a Tiverton churchwarden in 1654. In the 13th century this name, in the forms of Burgoyn and Burgoyne, occasionally preceded by "De," occurred in Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Gloucestershire, and Somerset. The Burgoyns in the east of England were at that distant period important families, and it is stated by most of the Devonshire antiquarians and historians that the Devonshire stock hailed originally from Bedfordshire. If this is true, the migration must have occurred at a very early date, since not only, as I have observed above, were high official positions in the city of Exeter held by the Burgoyns in the reigns of Henry VII. and Henry VIII., a circumstance itself not indicative of recent immigration, but as far back as the reign of Edward I. the name was represented in the west of England in the counties of Somerset and Gloucester." 7

Early History of the Burgen family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Burgen research. Another 181 words (13 lines of text) covering the years 1086, 1210, 1273, 1319, 1379, 1500, 1592, 1638, 1645, 1648, 1657, 1680, 1682, 1683, 1703, 1722, 1739, 1740, 1741, 1764, 1785, 1789, 1792 and 1795 are included under the topic Early Burgen History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Burgen Spelling Variations

Spelling variations in names were a common occurrence in the eras before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago. In the Middle Ages, even the literate regularly changed the spellings of their names as the English language incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other European languages. Many variations of the name Burgen have been found, including Burgon, Burgoin, Burgunie, Burgoyne, Burgoyn, Burgoigne, Burgane, Burgin and many more.

Early Notables of the Burgen family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Thomas Burgane, a prominent landholder in Scotland in the 16th century; and Sir John Burgoyne (c.1592-1657) 1st Baronet, an English politician, Member of Parliament for Warwickshire (1645-1648), supported the Parliamentarian cause in the English Civil War. John Burgoyne (1722-1792), the English dramatist and general, was the only son of, Captain John Burgoyne, a man of fashion, who died in the rules of the king's bench, and grandson of Sir John Burgoyne, bart., of Sutton Park, Bedfordshire. He was educated at Westminster School, where he made friends with Lord Strange, eldest son of the Earl...
Another 135 words (10 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Burgen Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States Burgen migration to the United States +

For many English families, the social climate in England was oppressive and lacked opportunity for change. For such families, the shores of Ireland, Australia, and the New World beckoned. They left their homeland at great expense in ships that were overcrowded and full of disease. Many arrived after the long voyage sick, starving, and without a penny. But even those were greeted with greater opportunity than they could have experienced back home. Numerous English settlers who arrived in the United States and Canada at this time went on to make important contributions to the developing cultures of those countries. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Burgen were among those contributors:

Burgen Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Evan Burgen, who landed in Virginia in 1643 8
  • Philip Burgen, who landed in Maryland in 1678 8
Burgen Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Michael Burgen, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1752 8

Australia Burgen migration to Australia +

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

Burgen Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Mr. James Burgen, British convict who was convicted in Derby, England for life, transported aboard the "Asia" on 19th November 1827, settling in New South Wales, Australia 9

Contemporary Notables of the name Burgen (post 1700) +

  • Sir Arnold Stanley Vincent Burgen FRS (1922-2022), British physician, pharmacologist, academic and university administrator, Master of Darwin College, Cambridge from 1982–1989, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of The University of Cambridge from 1985–1989
  • Arnold Stanley Vincent Burgen (b. 1922), British pharmacologist and director of the National Institute for Medical Research, London

Grover Shoe factory
  • Miss Myra Burgen, American employee of the Grover Shoe factory in Brockton, Massachusetts on 20th March 1905 when the boiler exploded and collapsed the wooden building; she died 10


  1. Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
  2. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  3. Arthur, William , An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names. London: 1857. Print
  4. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  5. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  6. Rye, Walter, A History of Norfolk. London: Elliot Stock, 62, Paternoster Row, 1885. Print
  7. Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
  8. 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)
  9. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 8th January 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/asia/1827
  10. California Digital Newspaper from 21st March 1905 (retrieved on 5th August 2021.) Retrieved from https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=SFC19050321.2.19&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN--------1


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