The Buckley surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 41,348 people carried this name — #834 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 7,130 people counted. That is up 2% from 40,706 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Buckley surname

A habitational surname from Old English.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Buckley» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a local name, from where the family lived: ‘of Buckley’.

An early record he cites: David de Buckelay, Yorkshire, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 143 · public domain.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 184 births for the Buckley name in 1890.

They were registered in all four provinces, most of all in Munster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 8,200 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. 8 of them were indexed under other spellings of the name.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they were born, 1890

Munster 144
Leinster 31
Ulster 5
Connacht 4

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

53 people named Buckley live in Switzerland.

They live in 9 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Zurich 13
Geneva 8
Ticino 7
Aargau 5
Bern 5
Vaud 5
Basel-Stadt 4
Valais 3

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In Argentina’s national register

At least 41 people named Buckley live in Argentina.

RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Buenos Aires Province 23
City of Buenos Aires 18

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 29 people named Buckley.

Most of them — 24 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 3 départements, most often Oise.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born

Born outside France 24
Oise 2
Pas-de-Calais 2
Alpes-Maritimes 1

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In the Nordic population registers

76 people named Buckley is counted in Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 76

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Buckley was found among the farmers of 6 counties.

It was most frequent in Cheshire: 26 in every 10,000 farmers there — about 1 in 385. Guppy counted the farmers listed in each county’s directory and recorded a name only where it reached about 7 in every 10,000; where it does not appear, it was rarer than that, not absent.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

Cheshire 26
Worcestershire 18
Yorkshire, West Riding 15
Lancashire 12
Derbyshire 11
Staffordshire 10

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), alphabetical list of English and Welsh names — public domain · farmers in Kelly’s Post Office Directories of the 1880s, per 10,000 farmers in each county.

In Scotland’s registers today

Buckley was recorded 36 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 700th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 25. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.

National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

101 families named Buckley, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 594 people lived in those households, 5.9 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 3 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Connecticut 65
Maryland 10
Pennsylvania 9
Virginia 7
Massachusetts 4
Maine 3
Vermont 1
New York 1
North Carolina 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 231 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Buckley in American newspapers,
1895–1933.

Newspaper page from The Climax carrying the name Buckley
The Climax 1895-08-29
Newspaper page from The Manning Times carrying the name Buckley
The Manning Times 1904-09-21
Newspaper page from Montgomery County Sentinel carrying the name Buckley
Montgomery County Sentinel 1933-09-28

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 300,890 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Buckley in Australian newspapers,
1820s–2020s.

116,774 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Buckley. The most, 16,820, date from the 1910s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in Victoria, at 1.4 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 44,278
Victoria 34,903
Queensland 19,957
South Australia 8,251
Western Australia 5,622
Tasmania 2,931
ACT (Canberra) 647
Northern Territory 30

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Buckley.

Who carried it

People named Buckley,
with a public archive behind them.

  • William Buckley
    William Buckley 1780–1856 · bricklayer
  • John Buckley
    John Buckley 1813–1876 · military officer
  • Charles Waldron Buckley
    Charles Waldron Buckley 1835–1906 · judge
  • Patrick Buckley
    Patrick Buckley 1841–1896 · lawyer
  • Christopher Augustine Buckley
    Christopher Augustine Buckley 1845–1922 · politician

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 198 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Buckley,
in the records of 9 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States10,864 records

10,864 records of the Buckley name in the United States
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 3,531
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 2,928
  • Other U.S. records 4,405
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Michael Frank Buckley

    Born 1945; from Islip, New York. U.S. Marine Corps, rifleman; killed in action 1967 in Quang Tri, South Vietnam. Buried at Long Island National Cemetery, New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Gerald A. Buckley

    Born 1915 in Washington. Enlisted 1941 at Portland, Oregon; kitchen worker. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 2000, buried at Willamette National Cemetery, Oregon.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Arthur Delbert Buckley

    Born 1930; from Keene, New Hampshire. U.S. Army; declared dead 1950 in North Korea. Buried at Mountain View Cemetery, Swanzey, New Hampshire.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)

Showing 3 of 10,864 records for Buckley in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain).

Australia3,778 records

3,778 records of the Buckley name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 1,834
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 667
  • Other Australian records 1,277
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Mary Anne Buckley

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Mexborough, sailing from Dublin in 1841. Native of Cork. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1843. Married 1843 in Launceston, Tasmania, aged 18.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Samuel Buckley

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Moffatt, sailing from Woolwich in 1837. Native of Sheffield, Yorkshire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1848.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Mary Buckley

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Maria, sailing from Kingston in 1849. Native of Cork, Cork. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1855. Married 1855 in Richmond, Tasmania, aged 35.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 3,778 records for Buckley in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain).

Canada423 records

423 records of the Buckley name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 277
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 35
  • Other Canadian records 111
  1. The first page of an emigration file from Gündlingen, Baden, 1883
    Example: German emigration file, 1883
    Emigration record Jack Buckley

    Left New York in 1783 aboard the Two Sisters, bound for St. Johns, aged 50.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Hannah Buckley

    Came to Ontario in 1874 aboard the Phoenician, bound for Lindsay, Ontario; Irish.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Nelson L. Buckley

    Buried in 1986 at Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia, aged 61.

    Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax.

Showing 3 of 423 records for Buckley in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Emigration file, Gündlingen, 1883, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg B 694/1 Nr. 1389 (CC BY 4.0); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

United Kingdom136 records

136 records of the Buckley name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 119
  • Welsh wills index cards 8
  • Other British records 9
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Martin Buckley

    Buried in 1834 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 39.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Muriel Buckley

    Will proved in 1928; of St Clears, Carmarthenshire.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record F. Buckley

    Northumberland Fusiliers. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1919.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 3 of 136 records for Buckley in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

New Zealand91 records

91 records of the Buckley name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 68
  • Thames-Coromandel District cemetery records 12
  • Other New Zealand records 11
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Delwin Francis Buckley

    Died 1996, aged 76; buried at Waimairi Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Clara Buckley

    Died 1982, aged 83; buried at Fairhall Cemetery, Marlborough.

    Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Emily Buckley

    Buried in 1922 at Tararu Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, aged 82.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 91 records for Buckley in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Waimakariri District Council (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Canterbury Maps (Environment Canterbury), Timaru and Mackenzie District Councils (CC BY 3.0 NZ). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

France12 records

12 records of the Buckley name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Herbert Swift Buckley

    Born 1920 in the United States; died 1992 in Neuilly-sur-Seine (Hauts-de-Seine).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Lynn Buckley

    Born 1948 in the United Kingdom; died 2001 in Antibes (Alpes-Maritimes).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 2 of 12 records for Buckley in France.

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Germany6 records

6 records of the Buckley name in Germany Germany's First World War casualty lists, 1914–1919
  1. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Michael Buckley

    From Stetten, Oberpf. Reported wounded in the Bavarian casualty list of 28 November 1914 (Infantry Regiment No. 11).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)
  2. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Adolf Buckley

    From Grain, Oberpf. Reported wounded in the Bavarian casualty list of 4 April 1917.

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)

Showing 2 of 6 records for Buckley in Germany.

Counts: Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Deutsche Verlustlisten, Prussian list 1116, 18 April 1918 (scan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0).

Netherlands3 records

3 records of the Buckley name in the Netherlands Dutch population registers
  1. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Thomas Richardson Buckley

    In a population register; born 1831 in Wakefield.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 1 of 3 records for Buckley in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Ireland1 record

1 record of the Buckley name in Ireland County Galway graveyard records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Elizabeth Buckley

    Died 1898; buried at St Marys, Tuam, Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Buckley.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Buckley is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

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