Contents [hide]

Burnside History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Ireland United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Motto Suggested Reading Citations

Burnside History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
Ireland

Burnside is a name whose ancestors lived among the Picts, a tribe in ancient Scotland. The Burnside family lived in one of the many places by the same name. The name means dweller at the brookside from the Old English work burne which means brook and the word side. 1

Early Origins of the Burnside family

The surname Burnside was first found in Fife, but "there are villages named Burnside in the shires of Fife, Nairn, and Kincardine. " 2

Early History of the Burnside family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Burnside research. Another 91 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1511, 1650, 1669, 1673 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Burnside History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Burnside Spelling Variations

The appearance of the printing press and the first dictionaries in the last few hundred years did much to standardize spelling. Prior to that time scribes spelled according to sound, a practice that resulted in many spelling variations. Burnside has been spelled Burnside, Burniside, Burnshed, Burnsyde and others.

Early Notables of the Burnside family

Notable amongst the Clan at this time was

Jennit Burnside of Corsehill, who claimed the Chiefship of the Clan in 1673

Burnside Ranking

In the United States, the name Burnside is the 3,229^th most popular surname with an estimated 9,948 people with that name. 3

Migration of the Burnside family to Ireland

Some of the Burnside family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 59 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Burnside migration to the United States +

The expense of the crossing to the North American colonies seemed small beside the difficulties of remaining in Scotland. It was a long and hard trip, but at its end lay the reward of freedom. Some Scots remained faithful to England and called themselves United Empire Loyalists, while others fought in the American War of Independence. Much of this lost Scottish heritage has been recovered in the last century through Clan societies and other patriotic Scottish organizations. A search of immigration and passenger lists revealed many important, early immigrants to North America bearing the name of Burnside:

Burnside Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

James Burnside who settled in Georgia in 1733
Harry Burnside, his wife, and seven children, who arrived in New York in 1745
Joseph Burnside, who settled in Charles Town [Charleston], South Carolina in 1757
Margaret Bovey Burnside, who settled in Charles Town in 1757
Thomas Burnside, who settled in Charles Town in 1767
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Burnside migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Burnside Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Mr. Thomas Burnside U.E. who arrived at Port Roseway [Shelburne], Nova Scotia on October 26, 1783 was passenger number 252 aboard the ship "HMS Clinton", picked up on September 28, 1783 at Staten Island, New York 4
Mrs. Agnes Burnside U.E. who arrived at Port Roseway [Shelburne], Nova Scotia on October 26, 1783 was passenger number 310 aboard the ship "HMS Clinton", picked up on September 28, 1783 at Staten Island, New York 4

Burnside Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Sally Burnside, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick aboard the ship "Eleanor" in 1834
Robert Burnside, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick aboard the ship "Eleanor" in 1834

Burnside migration to Australia +

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

Burnside Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. William Burnside, (b. 1820), aged 18, Irish labourer who was convicted in Londonderry, Ireland for 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the "Clyde" on 11th May 1838, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 5
Jane Burnside, aged 18, a servant, who arrived in South Australia in 1854 aboard the ship "Trafalgar" 6

Burnside 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:

Burnside Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. John Burnside, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Slains Castle" arriving in Wellington, New Zealand on 1st December 1852 7
Mr. Burnside, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "John Masterman" arriving in Dunedin, South Island, New Zealand on 27th March 1857 8
Mr. William Burnside, Scottish settler travelling from Glasgow aboard the ship "Bruce" arriving in Dunedin, South Island, New Zealand on 12th September 1860 8
Mr. R. A. Burnside, Scottish settler travelling from Glasgow aboard the ship "James Nicol Fleming" arriving in Port Chalmers, Otago, New Zealand on 26th October 1870 8
Hugh Burnside, aged 35, who arrived in Lyttelton, New Zealand aboard the ship "Apelles" in 1874
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Burnside (post 1700) +

Ambrose Everett Burnside (1824-1881), American Union Army general in the American Civil War, railroad executive, and politician, the 30th Governor of Rhode Island, 1st President of the National Rifle Association until 1872; he patented Burnside carbine, a breech-loading carbine that saw widespread use during the American Civil War 9
Peter Willits Burnside (1930-2022), American Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher who appeared in 196 Major League Baseball games from 1955 to 1963
Robert Henry Burnside (1933-2021), American politician who served in the South Carolina House of Representatives as a member of the Democratic Party from 1971 to 1978
Maurice Gwinn Burnside (1902-1991), American politician, U.S. Representative from West Virginia
James G. Burnside, American Democratic Party politician, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, 1918-22; Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Illinois, 1928 10
J. P. Burnside, American politician, Delegate to Kentucky Secession Convention, 1861 10
J. C. Burnside, American Republican politician, Candidate for West Virginia State House of Delegates from Harrison County, 1948, 1952 10
Guy H. Burnside, American Republican politician, Candidate for West Virginia State House of Delegates from Harrison County, 1954 10
George W. Burnside, American Republican politician, Mayor of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, 1900-06, 1909-24, 1929-34; Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from South Dakota, 1924 10
G. C. Burnside, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Missouri, 1908 10
... (Another 12 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Burnside family +

HMS Royal Oak

James Burnside, British Stoker with the Royal Navy aboard the HMS Royal Oak (1939) when she was torpedoed by U-47 and sunk; he survived the sinking 11

RMS Lusitania

Miss Iris Margaret Burnside, Irish 1st Class Passenger residing in Toronto, Ontario, Canada visiting, Ireland, who sailed aboard the RMS Lusitania (1915) and died in the sinking 12
Mrs. Josephine Burnside, (née Eaton), Irish 1st Class Passenger residing in Toronto, Ontario, Canada visiting, Ireland, who sailed aboard the RMS Lusitania (1915) and survived the sinking 12

The Burnside Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Gradatim plena
Motto Translation: Full by degrees.

Citations +

Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 24th February 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/clyde
South Australian Register Thursday 29th June 1854. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) Trafalgar 1854. Retrieved http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/trafalgar1854.shtml
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
Wikisource contributors. "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900." Wikisource . Wikisource , 4 Jun. 2018. Web. 26 October 2020
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 25) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
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
Lusitania Passenger List - The Lusitania Resource. (Retrieved 2014, March 6) . Retrieved from http://www.rmslusitania.info/lusitania-passenger-list/