English
The surname 'Burroughs' is of English origin. It is a variant of the name 'Burrows', derived from the topographic name for someone who lived by a hill or tumulus (from the Old English word 'boerg', a cognate of the Old High German word 'gerg' meaning hill, mountain). However, the name has become inextricably confused with derivatives of the Old English word 'burh' meaning fort. Public and Civil registry archive's confirm that the surname 'Burroughs' and or it's variant's, date as far back as the reign of King Edward III, were a 'John ate Boroughe', from the county of Somerset is recorded in Kirby's Quest. Historical archive's have been unable to definitely determine the exact period of settlement in North America but It is believed that the forefather's of this surname were part of the exodus of migrants that followed the Treaty of Peace signed in Paris in 1763, when great Britain obtained ownership of the whole of North America east of the Missisipi River excepting New Orleans. The chief reasons causing working class people to emigrate were, poor crop yields, high unemployment, and the misconception that America was a land of golden opportunity. It is has been estimated that after 1769 some 20,000 persons a year migrated to the Americas from the British Isles. Today, 'Burroughs' is the 'One thousand five hundred and twenty-fourth' most common surname in North America.