English
The surname Burke is of English origin. It is derived from a topographical name from the Middle English 'burc','burk' fort, from the Old English 'burh or the Old High German 'burg' the common Germanic word for a fortfication.In the Middle Ages any sizeable habitation had to be fortified, but in England the term 'burc' came to be specialized to denote the site of a prehistoric hill fort; while its doublet 'burig', 'borough' denoted a fortified manor house or fortified town.The frequency of this surname in Ireland is due to William FitzAdelm de Burgo, a Norman knight from Burgh in Suffolk,who invaded Ireland with Henry II in 1171 and recieved the earldom of Ulster,along with large tracts of land in Connacht. His descendants quickly associated themselves with the native population,Gaelicizing their name as de Burca.Within a century they became the most powerful family in Ireland.The family since the reigns of Henry III and Edward I became one of the most esteemed,opulent and powerful of the Anglo-Norman settlers in Ireland under Strongbow.It held,by conquest and regal grant,whole territories within Ireland. The name dates as far back as the tenth century,were a Ailricus de Burc is recorded in historical archives. The name was brought to America by English and Irish immigrants. One of the first forefathers to bring this name to America is that of a, John Burke, who came to America aboard the Speedwell ,he settled in Maryland. This name is the one hundredth and seventy-third most common surname in America.