The burgess Surname
burgess Name Meaning and History
English and Scottish: status name from Middle English
burge(i)s, Old French burgeis ‘inhabitant and (usually)
freeman of a (fortified) town’ (see Burke), especially one with
municipal rights and duties. Burgesses generally had tenure of land or
buildings from a landlord by burgage. In medieval England
burgage involved the payment of a fixed money rent (as opposed to
payment in kind); in Scotland it involved payment in service, guarding
the town. The -eis ending is from Latin -ensis (modern
English -ese as in Portuguese). Compare
Burger.
Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4
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