2000
#772
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 40,706
First available Census row
Per 100,000 15.09
Uncommon Last name
Buckley
Derived from a place name meaning "meadow of the deer" or "meadow of the he-goat" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 46,134 Americans carry the last name Buckley. That puts it at #840 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 13.46 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 7,430 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Buckley 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Buckley with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
46K
1 in 7,430
Census rank
#840
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
13.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
40K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 40,231 bearers of the surname Buckley in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 13.46 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 840th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Buckley, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.1%. The next largest groups are Black (11.3%) and Two or More Races (3.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Buckley
The surname Buckley is of English origin, deriving from the Old English personal name Bucca, a diminutive of Buc, meaning "buck" or "male deer." The name likely originated from areas around Buckley in Flintshire, Wales, and Buckley in Northamptonshire, England.
Buckley can also be traced back to the Old English word "boc-leah," meaning a meadow or clearing frequented by bucks or male deer. This suggests that the name may have originated as a descriptive surname for someone who lived near such a clearing.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Buckley surname appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, which lists a landholder named Bucheli in Essex, England. This early spelling variation highlights the name's evolution over time.
In the 13th century, the Buckley surname appeared in various records, including the Hundred Rolls of 1273, which list a Robert de Buckeley in Oxfordshire. The "de" prefix indicates the name was originally a place name before becoming a hereditary surname.
Notable individuals bearing the Buckley surname include:
1. William Buckley (c. 1776-1856), an English convict who escaped and lived with Aboriginal Australians for over 30 years.
2. Edmund Buckley (1684-1735), an English clergyman and author known for his work on ancient geography.
3. Arabella Buckley (1840-1929), an English writer and popularizer of science who authored several influential children's books.
4. William Edward Buckley (1857-1910), an American politician who served as the 21st Governor of Connecticut.
5. Edgar Buckley (1864-1912), an English-born Australian poet and journalist known for his work in promoting Australian literature.
The Buckley surname has been widely dispersed throughout the English-speaking world, with many variants and spellings emerging over time, such as Buckly, Bukley, and Buckeley. However, the core meaning and origin of the name remain rooted in its Old English beginnings.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Buckley
Among Census respondents with the surname Buckley, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.1%. The next largest groups are Black (11.3%) and Two or More Races (3.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Buckley 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 Buckley surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.1% · 32,239
- Black or African American11.3% · 4,566
- Two or more races3.6% · 1,436
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 1,387
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 347
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 256
Timeline
Historical Census data for Buckley
Buckley 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
#834
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 41,348
+642 bearers (+1.6%)
Per 100,000 14.02
Rank movement Down 62 places
2020
#840
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 40,231
-1,117 bearers (-2.7%)
Per 100,000 13.46
Rank movement Down 6 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #772 | 40,706 | 15.09 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #834 | 41,348 | 14.02 | +642 bearers (+1.6%) | Down 62 places |
| 2020 | #840 | 40,231 | 13.46 | -1,117 bearers (-2.7%) | Down 6 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 Buckley 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 | #834 | #840 | -0.7% |
| Count | 41,348 | 40,231 | -2.7% |
| Per 100K | 14.02 | 13.46 | -4.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Buckley bearers went from 41,348 to 40,231 (-2.7% change). The surname moved down 6 positions in the national ranking, going from #834 to #840.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Buckley
FAQ
Buckley surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Buckley?
Name Census estimates that about 46,134 living Americans carry the surname Buckley. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 7,430 residents.
How common is Buckley?
Buckley ranks #840 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 13.46 per 100,000 residents, which is about 13 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 40,231 people with the surname Buckley. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (46,134), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 13.46 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 13.46 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 13 of them to have the surname Buckley.
Has Buckley become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Buckley went from 41,348 recorded bearers to 40,231. That is a decrease of 1,117 (-2.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #834 to #840.
What does the Census say about the background of Buckley?
Among Census respondents with the surname Buckley, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.1%. The next largest groups are Black (11.3%) and Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Buckley in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.1% (32,239 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Buckley appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.1%), Black (11.3%), Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Buckley (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 Buckley mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "meadow of the deer" or "meadow of the he-goat" in Old English. 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 Buckley (13.46 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 common is the surname Buckley?
See how many Americans have the surname Buckley on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.