Fun Facts About the Name Burnelle
- 17 babies named Burnelle: U.S. records list 17 babies given the name Burnelle from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Burnelle Mean?
Burnelle is a rare feminine given name whose form is best explained as the English surname Burnell with the French feminine ending -elle. The surname comes from Old French burnel (also spelled brunel), a diminutive of brun, "brown," so the literal sense is "little brown one." It began as a descriptive byname for a person with brown hair or a brown complexion, not as a word with an abstract meaning. The same Old French root also produced the related forms Brunel and the French Brunelle. The name is distinct from the similar-looking Bernelle, which comes from a different root.
Burnelle Name History & Origins
The source is the surname Burnell, an Anglo-Norman name recorded in England from the 12th century onward, formed from Old French words carried to England after the Norman Conquest. Its best-known medieval bearer was Robert Burnell (died 1292), bishop of Bath and Wells and chancellor of England under Edward I. Descriptive surnames based on hair color or complexion were common in that period, and Burnell belonged to that group.
Burnell was later used occasionally as a male given name in the English-speaking world, and Burnelle appears as a feminine form, using the -elle ending that French and French-influenced naming often applies to women's names. Because the name is uncommon, standard name dictionaries rarely treat it on its own, so much of what can be said about it rests on the documented history of the surname. The related French form Brunelle has a separate history as a surname; it is also the French word for the self-heal plant, an unrelated use of the same sound.
How Popular is the Name Burnelle?
Burnelle has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 1920. Its best rank was #4,015 in 1920.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1928 | #4,812 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1920 | #4,015 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1915 | #4,370 | 5 | 0.0005% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
Most Popular Girl Names That Start with B
How the Name Burnelle Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You can go to great heights and equally great depths. You are emotional and fixed in your opinions. You are hospitable, sentimental, often psychic, sometimes moody. You are ruled by love and the lack of it and feel a need to be encouraged and appreciated. Emergencies may raise your intuitive abilities in order to resolve conflict or situation. You become very creative under the pressure, and have quite original ideas to make the best out of it.
Position and social status is very important for you and you are always looking for way to improve your position in society. You have power and ability to chose your own destiny and achieve anything you want in life. You can expand in any direction according to your will and the set of values. You have passion for justice and belong to the position of authority. You have an inherent courage and endurance to accomplish "The Impossible Dream". With the power comes responsibility. You hold keys to the material world, but with this gift comes high spiritual responsibility to be fair and true to others. You are philosophical and mature, determined and intense with a desire to endure, often religious.
✦ Burnelle's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Burnelle's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.