2000
#13,696
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,031
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.75
Rare Last name
Buechler
One who lived near a beech tree or in a beech forest.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,249 Americans carry the last name Buechler. That puts it at #14,586 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.66 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 152,403 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Buechler 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
2.2K
1 in 152,403
Census rank
#14,586
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,961 bearers of the surname Buechler in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.66 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14586th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Buechler, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Buechler
The surname Buechler is of German origin, derived from the occupational name "Büchler" which referred to a person who made or sold books. It is believed to have emerged in the 15th century during the early days of the printing press and book trade in Germany.
The name is thought to have originated in the southern regions of Germany, particularly in areas like Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, where book production and trade were thriving. It may have evolved from the Middle High German word "buoch," meaning book.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Heidelberg archives, where a certain Hans Büchler is mentioned as a book seller in the year 1487. This suggests that the name was already in use during the late medieval period.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the surname appears in various German-language records, often spelled with slight variations such as Büchler, Büchlein, or Büchelmeyer. These variations likely stemmed from regional dialects and scribal inconsistencies.
A notable bearer of the name was Johann Buechler (1505-1572), a German Lutheran theologian and reformer who played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation. He was a close associate of Martin Luther and helped spread the Reformation teachings across Saxony.
Another prominent figure was Gottlieb Buechler (1734-1804), a German writer and philosopher who contributed to the Age of Enlightenment. He wrote extensively on subjects like morality, education, and social reform.
In the 19th century, the Buechler surname can be found among German immigrants who settled in various parts of the United States and other countries. One such individual was Friedrich Buechler (1823-1899), a German-American businessman who co-founded the Buechler Brewing Company in St. Louis, Missouri.
Another notable bearer was Maximilian Buechler (1857-1924), an Austrian-American architect who designed several prominent buildings in New York City, including the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art.
The surname Buechler has also been associated with notable figures in academia and research, such as Carl Buechler (1888-1968), a German-American physicist who made significant contributions to the field of optics and spectroscopy.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Buechler
Among Census respondents with the surname Buechler, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Buechler 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 Buechler surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.2% · 1,828
- Two or more races2.9% · 56
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 52
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 6
- Black or African American0.3% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Buechler
Buechler 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
#14,549
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,048
+17 bearers (+0.8%)
Per 100,000 0.69
Rank movement Down 853 places
2020
#14,586
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,961
-87 bearers (-4.2%)
Per 100,000 0.66
Rank movement Down 37 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,696 | 2,031 | 0.75 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,549 | 2,048 | 0.69 | +17 bearers (+0.8%) | Down 853 places |
| 2020 | #14,586 | 1,961 | 0.66 | -87 bearers (-4.2%) | Down 37 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 Buechler 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 | #14,549 | #14,586 | -0.3% |
| Count | 2,048 | 1,961 | -4.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.69 | 0.66 | -4.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Buechler bearers went from 2,048 to 1,961 (-4.2% change). The surname moved down 37 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,549 to #14,586.
FAQ
Buechler surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Buechler?
Name Census estimates that about 2,249 living Americans carry the surname Buechler. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 152,403 residents.
How common is Buechler?
Buechler ranks #14,586 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.66 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,961 people with the surname Buechler. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,249), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.66 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.66 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Buechler.
Has Buechler become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Buechler went from 2,048 recorded bearers to 1,961. That is a decrease of 87 (-4.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,549 to #14,586.
What does the Census say about the background of Buechler?
Among Census respondents with the surname Buechler, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.7%). 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 Buechler in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.2% (1,828 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Buechler appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.2%), Two or More Races (2.9%), Hispanic (2.7%). 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 Buechler (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 Buechler mean?
One who lived near a beech tree or in a beech forest. 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 Buechler (0.66 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 Buechler?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.