2000
#5,389
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,948
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.20
Rare Last name
Buckman
An English occupational surname referring to a male deer keeper or one who lived near male deer.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,455 Americans carry the last name Buckman. That puts it at #5,903 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.88 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 53,099 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Buckman 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 Buckman with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
6.5K
1 in 53,099
Census rank
#5,903
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,629 bearers of the surname Buckman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.88 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5903rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Buckman, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.1%. The next largest groups are Black (8.3%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Buckman
The surname Buckman is of English origin, and it is believed to have emerged in the county of Buckinghamshire during the medieval period. The name is derived from the Old English words "bucc" meaning "buck" or "male deer" and "mann" meaning "man." Thus, the name likely referred to someone who worked as a hunter or gamekeeper.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Buckman can be traced back to the 13th century. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Roger Buckman, who was mentioned in the Curia Regis Rolls of Buckinghamshire in 1221. The Curia Regis Rolls were official records of legal proceedings from the royal court during the reign of King Henry III.
In the 14th century, the name appeared in various forms, such as Bocman, Bokeman, and Bocmann, reflecting the fluidity of spelling during that time. The Hundred Rolls of 1273 recorded a Willelmus Bokeman in Oxfordshire, while the Poll Tax Returns of 1379 listed a Johannes Bocman in Yorkshire.
One notable historical figure with the surname Buckman was Sir William Buckman, who lived in the 15th century. He was a member of the gentry and held the position of High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire in 1442. Another prominent individual was Thomas Buckman, a 16th-century clergyman who served as the Rector of Steeple Ashton in Wiltshire from 1577 until his death in 1614.
During the 17th century, the name Buckman was found in various parts of England, with concentrations in Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, and Wiltshire. In this period, Edward Buckman (1619-1665) was a noted English minister and author who published several religious works, including "The Holy Ghost Inditing" and "The Gospel Covenant Opened."
In the 18th century, John Buckman (1736-1812) was a renowned architect and surveyor from Buckinghamshire. He designed numerous buildings, including the Radcliffe Observatory in Oxford and the Clarendon Printing House in Broad Street, Oxford.
As the name spread across England, it encountered variations in spelling, such as Buckeman, Bucknam, and Bucknum. However, the spelling "Buckman" remained the most common form throughout history.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Buckman
Among Census respondents with the surname Buckman, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.1%. The next largest groups are Black (8.3%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Buckman 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 Buckman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.1% · 4,678
- Black or African American8.3% · 469
- Two or more races3.4% · 190
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 145
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.0% · 115
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 32
Timeline
Historical Census data for Buckman
Buckman 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
#5,881
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,868
-80 bearers (-1.3%)
Per 100,000 1.99
Rank movement Down 492 places
2020
#5,903
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,629
-239 bearers (-4.1%)
Per 100,000 1.88
Rank movement Down 22 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,389 | 5,948 | 2.20 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,881 | 5,868 | 1.99 | -80 bearers (-1.3%) | Down 492 places |
| 2020 | #5,903 | 5,629 | 1.88 | -239 bearers (-4.1%) | Down 22 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 Buckman 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 | #5,881 | #5,903 | -0.4% |
| Count | 5,868 | 5,629 | -4.1% |
| Per 100K | 1.99 | 1.88 | -5.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Buckman bearers went from 5,868 to 5,629 (-4.1% change). The surname moved down 22 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,881 to #5,903.
FAQ
Buckman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Buckman?
Name Census estimates that about 6,455 living Americans carry the surname Buckman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 53,099 residents.
How common is Buckman?
Buckman ranks #5,903 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.88 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,629 people with the surname Buckman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,455), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.88 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.88 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Buckman.
Has Buckman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Buckman went from 5,868 recorded bearers to 5,629. That is a decrease of 239 (-4.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,881 to #5,903.
What does the Census say about the background of Buckman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Buckman, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.1%. The next largest groups are Black (8.3%) and Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Buckman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.1% (4,678 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Buckman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (83.1%), Black (8.3%), Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Buckman (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 Buckman mean?
An English occupational surname referring to a male deer keeper or one who lived near male deer. 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 Buckman (1.88 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 Buckman?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the surname Buckman is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.