Burnham

B3U1R1N1H4A1M3
US/ˈbɝnəm/UK/bɜːnəm/

proper noun

A large village and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, previously in South Bucks district, and partly in Slough, Berkshire, England (OS grid ref SU9382).

OriginOld English burna →
Less commonScrabble 14
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Meanings

proper nounBurnham (countable and uncountable, plural Burnhams)

plural Burnhams · alternative Burnam

  1. A placename:
    1. countableuncountableA large village and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, previously in South Bucks district, and partly in Slough, Berkshire, England (OS grid ref SU9382).
    2. countableuncountableA town in Essex, England; see Burnham-on-Crouch.
    3. countableuncountableA hamlet in Thornton Curtis parish, North Lincolnshire district, Lincolnshire, England (OS grid ref TA0517).
    4. countableuncountableA coastal town in Somerset, England; see Burnham-on-Sea.
    5. countableuncountableA community in the Rural Municipality of Coulee No. 136, Saskatchewan, Canada.
    6. countableuncountableA village in Cook County, Illinois, just south of Chicago.
    7. countableuncountableA town in Waldo County, Maine.
    8. countableuncountableAn unincorporated community in Howell County, Missouri.
    9. countableuncountableA borough in Mifflin County, Pennsylvania.
    10. countableuncountableA settlement in Canterbury, New Zealand, the location of an army camp.
    11. countableuncountableA park in Baguio, Benguet, Philippines.
  2. countableA habitational surname from Old English.

    Andy Burnham has become UK prime minister, replacing Sir Keir Starmer in No 10 Downing Street.

    2026 July 17, Alex Boyd, Duncan Walker, “A very quick guide to new prime minister Andy Burnham”, in BBC News, archived from the original on 19 Jul 2026
    1. countableuncountableAndy Burnham, British prime minister.

Origin

  1. Old Englishburna“stream”
  2. EnglishBurnham

From Old English burna (“stream”) + hām (“homestead”) or hamm (“water meadow”).

More words from Old English

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Buhrman
Cite this entry
APA

Burnham. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Burnham

MLA

“Burnham.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Burnham. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Burnham,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Burnham.

Source: Burnham on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.