Meaning and background
The story behind Burnham
Burnham is an English surname from several places bearing that name, but their elements are not identical. The dictionary explains stream plus homestead for places in Buckinghamshire, Norfolk and Essex; Burnham-on-Sea instead has a water-meadow element. The Lincolnshire name is linked to an Old Norse plural meaning springs. A family’s particular locality matters, so the appealing stream-and-home explanation should not be assigned automatically to every Burnham.
- Origin
- English habitational surname with distinct stream/homestead, stream/water-meadow and Old Norse springs place-name routes. Source
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About Burnham
Recorded as a dog’s name
Burnham appears in 2 dog licence records in the 2024 New York City dataset.
How to read this count
These records cover New York City and may count the same dog in more than one licence period. They are not a national popularity ranking.
Pronunciation and rhythm
/bɝnəm/
US English sound sequence, converted from the CMU dictionary. Stress marks are shown separately.
Stress on the first syllable in the recorded US readings.
Other dictionary readings and notation
/bɝnəm/ · primary stress on syllable 1B ER1 N AH0 M
/bɝnhæm/ · primary stress on syllable 1B ER1 N HH AE0 M
These are US dictionary readings. Personal, regional and other language pronunciations may differ.
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Sources and research notes (2)
- New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene NYC Dog Licensing Dataset — all seven available extract years, retrieved 24 October 2026 — Recorded name spellings in NYC licence-period rows, extract years 2016–2018, 2022–2024 and 2026. Evidence selects one stated year per name. Annual snapshots overlap; never sum them as unique dogs. No national popularity, etymology or owner naming-intent claim.
- Carnegie Mellon University / CMU Sphinx maintainers CMU US English Pronouncing Dictionary — US English dictionary readings; not owner-specific or exhaustive multilingual pronunciation
References support the individual facts shown. A source link does not mean the entire profile has been verified.