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Surname Etymology and Meaning of BURR

Name meanings and etymologies are often disputed. The information here is compiled from freely available sources, and no claims whatsoever are made for accuracy, either historical or etymological.

(origin: Saxon.) Burh, a wall, a fortress, a castle; a hill, a heap, the same as burgh.

Source: An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names With an Essay on their Derivation and Import (1857).

1. English: of uncertain origin. Reaney explains this as a nickname for a person who is difficult to shake off, from Middle English bur(r) ‘bur’ (a seedhead that sticks to clothing). Burre occurs as a surname or byname as early as 1185, but the vocabulary word is not recorded in OED until the 14th century. Another possibility is derivation from Old English bur ‘small dwelling or building’ (modern English bower), but there are phonological difficulties here too.
2. German: perhaps a variant spelling of Bur, or a topographic name from Burr(e) ‘mound’, ‘hill’, or in the south a variant of Burrer.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names (2003)