2000
#142,819
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Buchy
A surname derived from a French nickname for a lumberjack or woodcutter.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 131 Americans carry the last name Buchy. That puts it at #146,495 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,616,445 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Buchy surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
131
1 in 2,616,445
Census rank
#146,495
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
114
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 114 bearers of the surname Buchy in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 146495th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Buchy, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.1%) and Black (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Buchy
The surname Buchy is believed to have originated in France, specifically in the northern regions of the country. It likely emerged during the medieval period, around the 12th or 13th century.
One theory suggests that Buchy is derived from the Old French word "busche," meaning "log" or "wood." This could indicate that the name was initially associated with individuals involved in the timber trade or forestry.
Another possibility is that Buchy is a locational surname, referring to a specific place or region. In this case, it may have originated from the village of Buchy in the department of Seine-Maritime, Normandy. Locational surnames were common in medieval times, often indicating the place of origin or residence of a person or family.
In terms of historical records, the name Buchy can be found in various documents from the 13th century onwards. For instance, the Cartulaire de Normandie, a collection of charters and deeds from the Duchy of Normandy, mentions a certain Radulfus de Buchy in the year 1245.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Buchy surname is Jean Buchy, a nobleman and landowner from the village of Buchy in the 14th century. He is mentioned in the Livre des Fiefs, a record of feudal holdings in Normandy, dated around 1370.
During the 16th century, a notable figure bearing the Buchy surname was Pierre Buchy (c. 1510-1580), a French jurist and legal scholar who served as a judge in the Parlement of Paris.
In the 17th century, Jacques Buchy (1622-1699) was a prominent French architect and engineer. He is best known for his work on the Château de Versailles and the construction of the famous Hall of Mirrors.
Moving into the 18th century, François Buchy (1731-1811) was a French playwright and dramatist. He gained recognition for his comedic works, which were frequently performed in Paris theaters during his lifetime.
Another notable figure with the Buchy surname was Marie-Gabrielle Buchy (1788-1865), a French painter and portraitist. She exhibited her works at the prestigious Paris Salon and received commissions from notable figures of the time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Buchy
Among Census respondents with the surname Buchy, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.1%) and Black (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Buchy bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Buchy surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.5% · 102
- Two or more races6.1% · 7
- Black or African American1.8% · 2
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Buchy
Buchy appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#129,825
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 131
+24 bearers (+22.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 12,994 places
2020
#146,495
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
-17 bearers (-13.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 16,670 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #142,819 | 107 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #129,825 | 131 | 0.04 | +24 bearers (+22.4%) | Up 12,994 places |
| 2020 | #146,495 | 114 | 0.04 | -17 bearers (-13.0%) | Down 16,670 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Buchy surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #129,825 | #146,495 | -12.8% |
| Count | 131 | 114 | -13.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -4.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Buchy bearers went from 131 to 114 (-13.0% change). The surname moved down 16,670 positions in the national ranking, going from #129,825 to #146,495.
FAQ
Buchy surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Buchy?
Name Census estimates that about 131 living Americans carry the surname Buchy. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,616,445 residents.
How common is Buchy?
Buchy ranks #146,495 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 114 people with the surname Buchy. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (131), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Buchy.
Has Buchy become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Buchy went from 131 recorded bearers to 114. That is a decrease of 17 (-13.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #129,825 to #146,495.
What does the Census say about the background of Buchy?
Among Census respondents with the surname Buchy, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.1%) and Black (1.8%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Buchy in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.5% (102 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Buchy appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.5%), Two or More Races (6.1%), Black (1.8%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Buchy (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Buchy mean?
A surname derived from a French nickname for a lumberjack or woodcutter. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Buchy (0.04 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Buchy?
Want to know how many people have the surname Buchy? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.