An Scottish, Irish and English surname the Burgess family name comes from the Middle English term of ‘burges’ and the Old French term of ‘burgeis’ which refers to an inhabitant or citizen of a town.

Spelling variations for Burgess include Bargess, Burgeus, Burges, Burgeis, Burghersh, Burgar and Burgesse.

In Scotland the Burgess population covers most of the eastern half of the region. Most are concentrated in Midlothian, Angus, Lanarkshire, Aberdeenshire and Dumfries-shire counties. In England the Burgess families live in Lancashire, Yorkshire, Cheshire, Hampshire, Kent, Sussex and the city of London.

Within the United States Burgess families primarily live in South Carolina, Illinois, Ohio, Massachusetts, California, New York and Pennsylvania.

Famous: Bobby Burgess (dancer and singer), Edward Burgess (19th century yacht designer), Jim Burgess (professional golfer), Smoky Burgess (professional baseball player), Michael Burgess (actor and singer from Canada), Neil Burgess (comic of vaudeville), Chris Burgess (professional basketball player), Graham Burgess (master English chess player), Lord Burgess (songwriter) and Thornton Burgess (author of children’s books).