2000
#7,381
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,163
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.54
Rare Last name
Buller
An English occupational surname derived from the Old French word "bouler," meaning "to boil," referring to a maker of kettles or boilers.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,628 Americans carry the last name Buller. That puts it at #7,887 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.35 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 74,061 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Buller 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 Buller with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.6K
1 in 74,061
Census rank
#7,887
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,036 bearers of the surname Buller in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.35 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7887th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Buller, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.2%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Buller
The surname Buller has its origins in England and dates back to the medieval period. It is believed to be derived from the Old English word "bullere," which referred to someone who worked with bulls or oxen, possibly a herdsman or a ploughman.
The name first appeared in various forms, such as Bullere, Buller, and Bullar, in the Domesday Book of 1086, a historical record of landholders commissioned by William the Conqueror. The earliest recorded instances of the name were found in counties like Derbyshire, Gloucestershire, and Oxfordshire.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was William Buller, who was recorded in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1190. Another notable early reference is found in the Hundred Rolls of 1273, which mention a Simon le Buller from Oxfordshire.
In the 13th and 14th centuries, the name was associated with several place names, such as Bullers Green in Gloucestershire and Bullers Hill in Bedfordshire, suggesting that some families may have taken their surnames from the locations where they resided.
Among the prominent individuals with the surname Buller throughout history are Sir Francis Buller (1744-1800), an English judge and legal writer; Sir Redvers Buller (1839-1908), a British Army officer who served in the Boer War; and Walter Lionel Buller (1838-1901), a renowned New Zealand ornithologist and lawyer.
Other notable Bullers include Charles Buller (1806-1848), a British reformer and writer; James Buller (1812-1880), a British colonial administrator in Canada; and Sir Arthur Buller (1853-1920), a British Army officer who served in the Anglo-Zulu War.
While the surname Buller has its roots in medieval England, it has since spread to various parts of the world, including Canada, New Zealand, and other former British colonies, reflecting the historical migrations and settlements of English families.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Buller
Among Census respondents with the surname Buller, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.2%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Buller 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 Buller surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.5% · 3,613
- Hispanic or Latino4.2% · 171
- Two or more races3.2% · 130
- Black or African American1.7% · 68
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 32
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 22
Timeline
Historical Census data for Buller
Buller 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
#7,708
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,307
+144 bearers (+3.5%)
Per 100,000 1.46
Rank movement Down 327 places
2020
#7,887
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,036
-271 bearers (-6.3%)
Per 100,000 1.35
Rank movement Down 179 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,381 | 4,163 | 1.54 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,708 | 4,307 | 1.46 | +144 bearers (+3.5%) | Down 327 places |
| 2020 | #7,887 | 4,036 | 1.35 | -271 bearers (-6.3%) | Down 179 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 Buller 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 | #7,708 | #7,887 | -2.3% |
| Count | 4,307 | 4,036 | -6.3% |
| Per 100K | 1.46 | 1.35 | -7.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Buller bearers went from 4,307 to 4,036 (-6.3% change). The surname moved down 179 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,708 to #7,887.
FAQ
Buller surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Buller?
Name Census estimates that about 4,628 living Americans carry the surname Buller. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 74,061 residents.
How common is Buller?
Buller ranks #7,887 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.35 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 4,036 people with the surname Buller. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,628), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.35 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.35 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 Buller.
Has Buller become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Buller went from 4,307 recorded bearers to 4,036. That is a decrease of 271 (-6.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,708 to #7,887.
What does the Census say about the background of Buller?
Among Census respondents with the surname Buller, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.2%) and Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Buller in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.5% (3,613 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Buller appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.5%), Hispanic (4.2%), Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Buller (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 Buller mean?
An English occupational surname derived from the Old French word "bouler," meaning "to boil," referring to a maker of kettles or boilers. 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 Buller (1.35 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 Americans have the surname Buller?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.