In some cases, it derived from the Middle English or Scots burn, and originated as a topographic name for an individual who lived by a stream.
In other cases the surname is a variant form of the surname Burnhouse, which originated as a habitational name, derived from a place name made up of the word elements burn and house.
[2] In other cases, the surname Burns is an Anglicised form of the Irish Ó Broin,[1] which means "descendant of Bran".
[4] An early form of the surname when derived from the place name Burnhouse is "Burnis", recorded in 1526.
An early form of the surname when derived from a nickname meaning "burn house" is "Brenhus", recorded in 1286 and 1275.