Burnell
Masculine · “little brown one”
Burnell is given to both — 2,790 boys and 593 girls since 1880. See Burnell as a girl nameSee other names given to both
Burnell is a Norman nickname meaning little brown one. It was given to somebody for their hair or their complexion, became a family name, crossed to England with the Conquest, and eventually turned up at the front of American children's names with none of that visible.
How old is the name Burnell?
Burnell first appears in US birth records in 1906 — 119 years ago. The typical Burnell alive today was born around 1941, making them about 84 years old. About 1,100 people named Burnell are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Burnell most popular?
Burnell peaked in 1920, reaching #816 nationally. See the whole 1920 chart.
Where it comes from
From brun to Burnell
The story of Burnell
The ending is the interesting part. English has its own diminutive endings and none of them is -ell; that one came from French, where it made small or affectionate forms freely, and it arrived in English attached to finished words rather than as a working suffix. That is why English has Burnell, Russell, Purcell and Martel without having any way to make new ones. Burnell went from nickname to surname in Normandy, produced a chancellor of England in the thirteenth century, and reached America as a family name that then moved forward. The record shows it given to girls as well as boys.
Meaning
little brown one
The Old French brun means brown, and the ending is a diminutive. Nicknames of this kind are among the commonest sources of European surnames, and most of them describe hair.
How the name formed
- brun
- Burnell
Related forms: Brunel
Pronouncing Burnell
bur-NEL
Two syllables with the weight at the back. Front-weighted BUR-nel is also heard, particularly where the name is used as a surname.
Nicknames for Burnell
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1906
- Most boys named
- 192067 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #816reached in 1920
- Change vs 2017
- 0.0%5 in 2022, from 5
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Burnell in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Brunel in French — related form
Burnells among us
people named Burnell are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Burnell sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Both syllables are readable, so the name is said correctly at sight.
- It works as a surname and as a first name, which suits families that use both.
- The meaning is concrete and easy to explain.
- It will be heard as Bernell and Burnett and written both ways.
- The spelling is recorded for girls as well as boys in the United States.
- It reads clearly as a name of the early twentieth century.
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Burnell
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Burnells are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,100 people named Burnell are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Burnell in 2025?
- Burnell is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Burnell with classmates?
- Burnell will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More B names
The most-given names starting with B, all years combined.
Brian#339 · Benjamin#11 · Brandon#261 · Bryan#336 · Bruce#536 · Billy#1068 · Bobby#1097 · Bradley#403
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Burnell? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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