Origins Available: English,
Scottish
The family name Burnis is thought to be of Norman origins. Originally, Burnis was a name given to a small child. The surname springs from the middle English
bairn, of the same meaning.
[1]CITATION[CLOSE]
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6) [2]CITATION[CLOSE]
Hanks, Patricia and Flavia Hodges, A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988. Print. (ISBN 0-19-211592-8)Early Origins of the Burnis family
The surname Burnis was first found in
Surrey at Barnes, a parish, in the union of Richmond, W. division of the
hundred of Brixton.
[3]CITATION[CLOSE]
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print. This parish was originally listed as Berne
[4]CITATION[CLOSE]
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8) in the
Domesday Book of 1086. According to the Saxon Chronicle, Siward Barn was the patriot rebel against William the Conqueror.
[5]CITATION[CLOSE]
Lowe, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print. After that early listing, one of the first records of the name was found in
Surrey as Philip de Bernes.
[6]CITATION[CLOSE]
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X) Other early records include: Henry de le Berne in Norfolk; Richard de la Berne in Kent; and William de la Berne in
Dorset, all listed in the
Hundredorum Rolls of 1273.
[1]CITATION[CLOSE]
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6) William Bernes was listed in the Assize Rolls of
Cheshire in 1380 and Joan Barnes was also listed in
Cheshire in 1450.
[6]CITATION[CLOSE]
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X) Early Scottish sources revealed that the name was from "Barnes in the parish of Premnay, Aberdeenshire"
[7]CITATION[CLOSE]
Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3) where the first record was found in the 15th century as Robert of Bernis, a goldsmith in 1465.
[7]CITATION[CLOSE]
Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
Early History of the Burnis family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Burnis research.
Another 259 words (18 lines of text) covering the years 1300, 1200, 1661, 1627, 1710, 1654, 1712, 1675 and are included under the topic Early Burnis History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Burnis 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 Burnis have been found, including Barnes, Barns, Barnis, Bernys, Barness and others.
Early Notables of the Burnis family (pre 1700)
Distinguished members of the family include Colonel James Barns of Kirkhill; John Barnes (died 1661), an English Benedictine monk, from Lancashire; Ambrose Barnes (1627-1710), an English nonconformist and Mayor of Newcastle; and...
Another 31 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Burnis Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Burnis family to Ireland
Some of the Burnis family moved to
Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 135 words (10 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Burnis family to the New World and Oceana
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 Burnis were among those contributors:
Burnis Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
- F W Burnis, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1851 [8]CITATION[CLOSE]
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)