How Many People Are Named George Burns?

There are approximately 322 people named George Burns living in the United States today. That makes this name combination uncommon, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 1,064,454 Americans.

This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name George with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Burns. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census background data where it is available.

Estimated People with This Name

322

1 in 1,064,454 Americans

Combination Rarity

Uncommon

Very Rare Very Common

First Name

George

Last Name

Burns

George: Popularity Over Time

Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name George. The peak year was 1921 with 27,682 births. The average person named George today is 61 years old.

Male

Female

Ancestry of the First Name George

In the 2020 Census, the first name George was most commonly recorded among people who identified as White (73.01%). The next largest recorded groups were Black (11.15%) and Hispanic (10.27%).

These percentages describe the people who had the first name George in the 2020 Census. They do not tell you the deeper origin or meaning of the name itself.

Read this as a snapshot of who already had the name in 2020, not as a trend line. The SSA chart above is still the better way to see how George rose or fell over time.

White

73.01%

Black

11.15%

Hispanic

10.27%

Asian/Pacific Islander

2.65%

American Indian/Alaska Native

0.62%

Two or More Races

2.29%

Ancestry of the Burns Surname

The surname Burns was most commonly recorded among people who identified as White in the 2020 Census.

This is a self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people who had the surname Burns in the published Census surname tables. It gives useful context around who was recorded with the name, but it does not tell the full family history of every Boone line.

White

77.43%

Black

13.86%

Hispanic

3.40%

Asian/Pacific Islander

0.71%

American Indian/Alaska Native

0.71%

Two or More Races

3.89%

How we calculated this

The first name "George" has an estimated frequency of 0.176% among living Americans, based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024 adjusted for mortality using CDC 2023 life tables.

The surname "Burns" appears at a rate of 53.23 per 100,000 people in the 2020 U.S. Census.

We do not use the Census first-name snapshot for the main estimate because it is only published once every 10 years. The latest public first-name Census file is from 2020, which is already 6 years old. SSA birth records plus CDC survival data give a better current estimate of how many people with the first name George are likely to be alive now.

Multiplying these frequencies against the U.S. population of ~343 million gives 322 estimated people. This assumes first names and last names are statistically independent. Full methodology.

Other people named George

George Smith George Johnson George Williams George Brown George Jones George Garcia George Miller George Martinez

Other people with the surname Burns

Michael Burns James Burns John Burns David Burns Robert Burns William Burns Brian Burns Ronald Burns

George Burns: Questions and Answers

How many people are named George Burns?

We estimate approximately 322 people named George Burns are alive in the United States today. The first name George is shared by 604,749 Americans, and the surname Burns is shared by 182,457.

How rare is the name George Burns?

This name combination is classified as Uncommon, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 1,064,454 Americans. The first name George is very common and the surname Burns is common.

Is George a male or female name?

George is predominantly male, with 99.3% of bearers being male and 0.7% female. It peaked in popularity in 1921 and the average bearer today is 61 years old.

What does the Census say about the first name George?

In the 2020 Census, the first name George was most commonly recorded among people who identified as White (73.01%). The next largest recorded groups were Black (11.15%) and Hispanic (10.27%). These percentages describe the people who had the name in the 2020 Census, not the deeper origin of the name itself.

Where does this data come from?

First name data comes from the Social Security Administration (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables. When available, first-name Census background data comes from the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau first-name tables. Surname data comes from the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau. Full methodology.

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