2000
#1,376
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 23,645
First available Census row
Per 100,000 8.77
Uncommon Last name
Buckner
An English occupational surname for a person who kept or tended buckets or made buckets and other wooden vessels.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 26,422 Americans carry the last name Buckner. That puts it at #1,512 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 7.71 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 12,972 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Buckner 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 Buckner with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
26K
1 in 12,972
Census rank
#1,512
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
7.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
23K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 23,041 bearers of the surname Buckner in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 7.71 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1512th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Buckner, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.6%. The next largest groups are Black (25.8%) and Two or More Races (5.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Buckner
The surname Buckner has its origins in England and can be traced back to the 12th century. The name is believed to have derived from the Old English words 'bucca' meaning a buck or male deer, and 'hyrde' meaning a herdsman or keeper. Thus, the name originally referred to someone who tended to deer or occupied a position related to deer hunting.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, a record of landowners and properties in England compiled by order of William the Conqueror, there are references to individuals with the name Bucknere and Bukenare, which are considered early variations of the modern spelling Buckner.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Buckner dates back to 1273, when a John Buckner was listed in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire, an ancient record of land ownership and taxation. The surname was also found in various other medieval records, such as the Pipe Rolls and the Subsidy Rolls, indicating its presence in various parts of England.
The name Buckner is believed to have originated in the county of Buckinghamshire, which was once known as Buckinghamscire or Buckinghamsyre. The county's name itself is derived from the Old English words 'Bucca' and 'ham', meaning 'the homestead of Bucca'. It is possible that the surname Buckner may have originated from this place name or from individuals who migrated from the county.
Notable individuals with the surname Buckner throughout history include Sir Thomas Buckner (c. 1555-1634), an English politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Buckinghamshire. Another prominent figure was William Buckner (1579-1642), an English clergyman who was appointed as the Bishop of Rochester in 1628.
In the United States, one of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Buckner is that of Samuel Buckner (1658-1718), who settled in Virginia in the late 17th century. His descendants include notable figures such as Alexander Buckner (1785-1833), a U.S. Representative from Missouri, and Simon Bolivar Buckner (1823-1914), a lieutenant general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.
The Buckner surname has also been associated with various place names throughout England, such as Buckner's Heath in Buckinghamshire and Buckner's Farm in Hampshire. These place names may have originated from individuals with the surname Buckner who owned or resided in those areas.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Buckner
Among Census respondents with the surname Buckner, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.6%. The next largest groups are Black (25.8%) and Two or More Races (5.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Buckner 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 Buckner surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White64.6% · 14,891
- Black or African American25.8% · 5,943
- Two or more races5.0% · 1,152
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 737
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 194
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 124
Timeline
Historical Census data for Buckner
Buckner 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
#1,434
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 24,822
+1,177 bearers (+5.0%)
Per 100,000 8.41
Rank movement Down 58 places
2020
#1,512
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 23,041
-1,781 bearers (-7.2%)
Per 100,000 7.71
Rank movement Down 78 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,376 | 23,645 | 8.77 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,434 | 24,822 | 8.41 | +1,177 bearers (+5.0%) | Down 58 places |
| 2020 | #1,512 | 23,041 | 7.71 | -1,781 bearers (-7.2%) | Down 78 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 Buckner 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 | #1,434 | #1,512 | -5.4% |
| Count | 24,822 | 23,041 | -7.2% |
| Per 100K | 8.41 | 7.71 | -8.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Buckner bearers went from 24,822 to 23,041 (-7.2% change). The surname moved down 78 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,434 to #1,512.
FAQ
Buckner surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Buckner?
Name Census estimates that about 26,422 living Americans carry the surname Buckner. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 12,972 residents.
How common is Buckner?
Buckner ranks #1,512 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 7.71 per 100,000 residents, which is about 8 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 23,041 people with the surname Buckner. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (26,422), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 7.71 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 7.71 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 8 of them to have the surname Buckner.
Has Buckner become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Buckner went from 24,822 recorded bearers to 23,041. That is a decrease of 1,781 (-7.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,434 to #1,512.
What does the Census say about the background of Buckner?
Among Census respondents with the surname Buckner, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.6%. The next largest groups are Black (25.8%) and Two or More Races (5.0%). 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 Buckner in the 2020 Census, accounting for 64.6% (14,891 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Buckner appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (64.6%), Black (25.8%), Two or More Races (5.0%). 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 Buckner (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 Buckner mean?
An English occupational surname for a person who kept or tended buckets or made buckets and other wooden vessels. 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 Buckner (7.71 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 share the surname Buckner?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.