Person
Burlington
Vermont (VT)est. 1763pop. 44,743/BUR-ling-tuhn/
The meaning
“Settlement of Beornwulf's people”
How it got the name
The charter of 1763 does not say. Two candidates persist: Richard Boyle, Earl of Burlington, in line with New Hampshire governor Benning Wentworth's habit of flattering English nobles, or the Burling family of New York who held land nearby. The English original names an Anglo-Saxon chieftain's people.
Disputed / alternate theory
The Burling family theory is favored by some Vermont historians because Wentworth had business ties to them.