Burgess was originally a freeman of a borough. It later came to mean an elected or un-elected official of a municipality.

Burgess is a common last name:

• Anthony Burgess (1917–1993), English novelist and critic
• Claude Bramall Burgess, British Colonial Secretary of Hong Kong from 1958–1963
• Daniel Maynard Burgess (1828–1911), U.S. surgeon and explorer
• Eric Burgess, freelance space consultant
• Ernest Burgess (1886-1966), urban sociologist at the University of Chicago
• Gelett Burgess (1866–1951), U.S. humorist
• Guy Burgess (1911–1963), British double-agent
• Herbert Burgess (1883– ), British football player
• Ian Burgess, British Formula One driver
• Leroy Burgess, disco producer
• Mark Burgess (b. 1944), New Zealand cricket player
• Melvin Burgess (b. 1954), British author
• Michael Burgess, coroner of The Queen's Household
• Michael C. Burgess (b. 1950), U.S. physician and politician
• Neil Burgess, British actor
• Smoky Burgess (1927–1991), U.S. Major League Baseball player
• Thomas Burgess (1756–1837), English author and philosopher
• Thomas Burgess, founder of Bala, Ontario, Canada
• Thornton Burgess (1874–1965), U.S. conservationist and children's author
• Tim Burgess (b. 1967), lead singer of British band the Charlatans

Fictional :

• Alex Burgess, fictional character from Neil Gaiman's comic book series, The Sandman

Last names with the same meaning include:

Burgher, Burger, Borges

Burgess can also be a first name:

• Burgess Meredith (1907–1997), U.S. actor

Other uses of Burgess include:

• Burgess Park, park in the London Borough of Southwark
• Burgess Falls State Park U.S. state park located near Cookeville, Tennessee
• Mount Burgess, a Canadian mountain
• Burgess shale, fossil bearing shale found near Mount Burgess
• Burgess, Missouri, U.S. town
• Burgess Hill, English town
• Camp Burgess, boys camp in Sandwich, Massachusetts
• Carter & Burgess, U.S. consulting firm
• Virginia House of Burgesses, the lower house of the first elected legislative assembly in the New World

Burgess