Burns

Padraig Mac Giolla-Domhnaigh
1923

Burns—This name in Ulster, particularly in Co. Down, is the anglicised form of McBrin and McBrinn, in the districts of Kilkeel and Moira, in Gaelic Mac Broin, earlies Mac Conbroine, or Mac Conboirne. Some of the O'Byrnes that came to Ulster at the beginning of the 17th century have anglicised their name Burns, or it was done for them, likewise the McBurneys and McBirneys (Mac Biornaigh), a Gaelic sept in Dumfries County, have in many cases anglicised their name to Burns.

Alphabetical Index of Anglicised Surnames in Ireland

See also Woulfe’s Irish Names and Surnames
and O'Hart's Irish Pedigrees