Burke (surname)
Burke is an English variant of a surname that is common in England and Ireland which originates with the Cambro-Normans. In Old English, the name means "fortified hill". Variants include Bourke, de Burgo, Burgh, and De Burgh. Many Irish and English emigrants to Quebec and other francophone regions of Canada chose to change the spelling of the name to Bourque. Burke is an uncommon given name. Several localities around the world have been named Burke (see Burke (disambiguation)). Robert O'Hara Burke along with William John Wills undertook the "Burke and Wills Expedition" to inland Australia in 1860, and discussions of "Burke" usually refer to this event in history.
Coat of Arms [edit]
"Or, a gross gules in the dexter canton a lion rampant sable" According to legend, the coat of arms were given to a Burke Knight by Richard Coeur de Lion during the Crusades. It is said[by whom?] that a "de Burgh" was responsible for killing a Saracen Chief and astounded by his bravery, Richard drew a cross with the blood of the dead Saracen on de Burghs golden shield and said "these be thine arms forever". The most interesting part of the arms is the "lion rampant" as this was only given to sovereigns and noblemen of high rank and is one of the oldest "charges" to be found in heraldry.
See also [edit]
- List of people named Burke
- House of Burke, an Hiberno-Norman dynasty
- Berg (disambiguation)
- Berkley (disambiguation)
- Bourke (disambiguation)
- Burgh, an autonomous corporate entity in Scotland
- Burgos, a city of northern Spain
- Burk (disambiguation)
References [edit]
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This page or section lists people with the surname Burke. If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link. |
