Buell
A masculine name of uncertain origin, possibly derived from the French place name Bueil.
Name Census estimates that about 159 living Americans carry the first name Buell. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Buell today is around 80 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Buell births was 1920 (38 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Buell. 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 Buell is about 80 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Buells were born before 1956.
People living today
159
~ 1 in 2,155,688 Americans
Peak year
1920
38 babies that year
Average age
80
years old
1975 SSA rank
#5,572
Tracked since 1889
Census
Buell in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 228 people with the first name Buell, which placed it at #35,335 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#35,335
National first-name rank
People counted
228
228 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
91.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Buell
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Buell is White at 91.2%. The next largest groups are Black (3.9%) and Two or More Races (2.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Buell described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Buell at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.2% · 208
- Black or African American3.9% · 9
- Two or more races2.6% · 6
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 1
Popularity
Buell: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Buell from the 1880s through to the 1970s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 263 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Buell 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 Buell during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Buells live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Missouri, Kentucky, Arkansas recorded the most babies named Buell, while Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 23 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Buell
The name Buell is of English origin and is believed to have derived from the Old English word "bū", meaning "to dwell" or "to inhabit". This name was likely initially used as a surname, referring to someone who lived in a particular location or settlement.
The earliest recorded instance of the name Buell dates back to the late 16th century in England. One of the first documented individuals bearing this name was William Buell, who was born in Chesterton, Cambridgeshire, England, in 1583.
In the 17th century, the name Buell gained prominence in colonial America. One notable figure was Samuel Buell, a Puritan minister born in Windsor, Connecticut, in 1651. He played a significant role in the early history of the Connecticut colony and served as a minister in several towns, including Killingworth and Colchester.
Another historical figure was Abel Buell, a soldier and militia officer during the American Revolutionary War. Born in Killingworth, Connecticut, in 1742, he served in various campaigns and battles, including the Siege of Boston and the Battle of Long Island.
In the 19th century, Buell appeared as a first name more frequently. One prominent individual was Don Carlos Buell, an American military officer who served as a Union general during the American Civil War. Born in Lowell, Ohio, in 1818, he commanded the Army of the Ohio and played a crucial role in several battles, including the Battle of Shiloh.
Another notable figure from this period was Moses Buell, an American inventor and mechanic born in Coventry, Connecticut, in 1804. He is credited with developing the first successful wood-planing machine, which revolutionized the woodworking industry.
In more recent times, the name Buell has been associated with the Buell Motorcycle Company, founded by Erik Buell in 1983. The company was later acquired by Harley-Davidson and produced high-performance motorcycles until its closure in 2009.
While the name Buell may have originated as a surname, it has established itself as a distinct first name with a rich history spanning several centuries. It has been borne by individuals from various walks of life, including ministers, soldiers, inventors, and entrepreneurs, contributing to the cultural and historical fabric of different societies.
People
Buell + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Buell 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
Buell: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Buell?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 159 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Buell 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 2,155,688 US residents.
Is Buell a common name?
We classify Buell as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 840 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Buell most popular?
The single biggest year for Buell was 1920, when 38 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Buell is about 80 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Buell in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 228 people with the name Buell, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #35,335 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Buell in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Buell?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Buell leans strongly male. 220 people counted with this name were male (97.3%), compared with 6 female bearers (2.7%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Buell?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Buell is White at 91.2%. The next largest groups are Black (3.9%) and Two or More Races (2.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Buell most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Buell in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.2% (208 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Buell in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Buell a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Buell 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 Buell still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Buell 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 Buell 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.
How many people have Buell as a first name?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.