2010
#151,532
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Buckwheat
A name derived from living near buckwheat fields or occupations involving buckwheat.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 118 Americans carry the last name Buckwheat. That puts it at #154,182 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,904,698 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Buckwheat 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
118
1 in 2,904,698
Census rank
#154,182
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
103
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 103 bearers of the surname Buckwheat in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154182nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Buckwheat, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.8%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (4.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Buckwheat
The surname BUCKWHEAT has its origins in the Middle English period, derived from the Old English words "boc" meaning beech tree and "hwæte" meaning wheat. It likely referred to someone who grew or worked with buckwheat, a type of cereal crop that was once widely cultivated in parts of England.
The earliest recorded instances of the BUCKWHEAT surname date back to the 13th century, appearing in various manorial records and tax rolls from counties such as Hertfordshire and Essex. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was John Buckwheat, a freeman of the city of London mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of 1275.
In the 14th century, the BUCKWHEAT surname was found in the village of Buckworth in Huntingdonshire, which may have influenced the spelling and pronunciation of the name in that region. The Hundred Rolls of 1273 list a William de Bucwurthe, who likely took his surname from the place name.
During the Tudor period, the BUCKWHEAT surname gained some prominence with the rise of Sir Thomas Buckwheat (c. 1495-1562), a successful merchant and Member of Parliament for the city of London. His grandson, Sir John Buckwheat (1530-1608), was a renowned jurist and served as Chief Justice of the Common Pleas.
Another notable figure was Elizabeth Buckwheat (1592-1672), a Puritan writer and religious leader who was a vocal critic of the Church of England during the English Civil War. Her written works, including "A Testimony Against Oppression" and "The Cry of the Oppressed", were widely circulated among Puritan communities.
In the 18th century, the BUCKWHEAT surname was associated with the village of Buckworth in Huntingdonshire, where several families bearing the name were recorded in parish registers and land records. One prominent individual was Robert Buckwheat (1710-1782), a wealthy landowner and justice of the peace who served as High Sheriff of Huntingdonshire in 1758.
Over time, the BUCKWHEAT surname has evolved into various spellings, such as Buckheat, Buckwheate, and Buckwhait, reflecting regional dialects and phonetic variations. However, the original meaning and origin of the name have remained largely unchanged, reflecting its agricultural and geographical roots in medieval England.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Buckwheat
Among Census respondents with the surname Buckwheat, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.8%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (4.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Buckwheat 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 Buckwheat surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.4% · 89
- Two or more races7.8% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native4.9% · 5
- Black or African American1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Buckwheat
Buckwheat appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#154,182
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
-5 bearers (-4.6%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 2,650 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #151,532 | 108 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #154,182 | 103 | 0.03 | -5 bearers (-4.6%) | Down 2,650 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 Buckwheat 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 | #151,532 | #154,182 | -1.7% |
| Count | 108 | 103 | -4.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -13.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Buckwheat bearers went from 108 to 103 (-4.6% change). The surname moved down 2,650 positions in the national ranking, going from #151,532 to #154,182.
FAQ
Buckwheat surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Buckwheat?
Name Census estimates that about 118 living Americans carry the surname Buckwheat. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,904,698 residents.
How common is Buckwheat?
Buckwheat ranks #154,182 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 103 people with the surname Buckwheat. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (118), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Buckwheat.
Has Buckwheat become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Buckwheat went from 108 recorded bearers to 103. That is a decrease of 5 (-4.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #151,532 to #154,182.
What does the Census say about the background of Buckwheat?
Among Census respondents with the surname Buckwheat, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.8%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (4.9%). 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 Buckwheat in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.4% (89 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Buckwheat appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.4%), Two or More Races (7.8%), American Indian/Alaska Native (4.9%). 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 Buckwheat (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 Buckwheat mean?
A name derived from living near buckwheat fields or occupations involving buckwheat. 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 Buckwheat (0.03 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 surname Buckwheat?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.