 In some cases the surname "Burns" is an Americanized form of the Jewish surname "Bernstein", which is derived from the German "bernstein" ("amber").An early form of the surname when derived from the place name "Burnhouse" is ""Burnis"", recorded in 1526.An early form of the surname when derived from a nickname meaning "burn house" is ""Brenhus"", recorded in 1286 and 1275.