Buckner
Variant of the English surname meaning "dweller at or near the buck's bank".
Name Census estimates that about 3 living Americans carry the first name Buckner. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Buckner today is around 88 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Buckner births was 1922 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Buckner. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Buckner is about 88 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Buckners were born before 1948.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Buckner. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
3
~ 1 in 114,251,446 Americans
Peak year
1922
5 babies that year
Average age
88
years old
1950 SSA rank
#3,754
Tracked since 1922
Popularity
Buckner: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Buckner from the 1920s through to the 1950s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 5 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Buckner by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Buckner during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Buckner
The name Buckner is an English surname that has been adopted as a given name. It is derived from the Old English words "bucca" meaning "male deer" and "hyrde" meaning "herd" or "keeper". Together, the words combine to suggest "deer-keeper" or "deer-herdsman".
The earliest recorded use of the surname Buckner dates back to the 13th century in England. It is believed to have originated as an occupational surname for someone who worked as a keeper or herder of deer in the forests or parks of medieval England.
While the name Buckner does not appear to have any direct references in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it does have a connection to the historical significance of deer hunting and forestry in medieval English society. Deer hunting was a popular pastime among the nobility, and deer parks were maintained on many estates to provide a source of game.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the first name Buckner was Buckner Stith (1666-1737), a prominent planter and politician in colonial Virginia. Another notable Buckner was Sir Buckner Whithed (1677-1741), an English naval officer who served in the Royal Navy during the War of the Spanish Succession.
In the 19th century, Buckner Harris Payne (1809-1889) was a prominent lawyer and politician in Virginia, serving as a member of the Virginia General Assembly and as a judge on the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals.
During the American Civil War, Samuel Buckner (1809-1884) was a Confederate general who surrendered Fort Donelson in 1862, earning him the nickname "The Unconditional Surrender Buckner". After the war, he served as the governor of Kentucky from 1887 to 1891.
In more recent history, Buckner Fanning (1910-1995) was an American baseball player who played for the Cleveland Indians and Boston Red Sox in the 1930s and 1940s.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who have borne the first name Buckner, highlighting its English origins and its connection to occupations and activities related to deer hunting and forestry.
People
Buckner + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Buckner as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with B
Other first names starting with B with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Buckner: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Buckner?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Buckner going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 114,251,446 US residents.
Is Buckner a common name?
We classify Buckner as "Very Rare". It ranks above 4.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 10 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Buckner most popular?
The single biggest year for Buckner was 1922, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Buckner is about 88 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Buckner in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Buckner a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Buckner in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Buckner still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Buckner in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Buckner can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are named Buckner?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.