The Buffington surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 8,738 people carried this name — #4,063 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 33,800 people counted. About the same as in 2000 (8,714).

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In the first U.S. census, 1790

41 families named Buffington, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 267 people lived in those households, 6.5 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 2 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

Massachusetts 15
Pennsylvania 14
Virginia 6
New York 2
South Carolina 2
Connecticut 1
Maryland 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. 232 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Buffington in American newspapers,
1900–1925.

Newspaper page from Northern Wyoming Herald And Garland Irrigation Era carrying the name Buffington
Northern Wyoming Herald And Garland Irrigation Era 1915-09-24
Newspaper page from Casper Daily Tribune carrying the name Buffington
Casper Daily Tribune 1925-08-23
Newspaper page from The Free Press carrying the name Buffington
The Free Press 1900-10-11

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 19,247 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Buffington in Australian newspapers,
1890s–1940s.

112 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Buffington. The most, 50, date from the 1940s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Victoria, at 3.5 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 67
Western Australia 13
New South Wales 12
ACT (Canberra) 8
Queensland 8
South Australia 4

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

Who carried it

People named Buffington,
with a public archive behind them.

  • James Buffington
    James Buffington 1817–1875 · politician
  • George Buffington
    George Buffington 1825–1893 · politician
  • Adelbert Rinaldo Buffington
    Adelbert Rinaldo Buffington 1837–1922 · inventor
  • Joseph Buffington
    Joseph Buffington 1855–1947 · judge
  • Thomas Buffington
    Thomas Buffington 1855–1938 · politician
  • Joseph Buffington 1803–1872 · judge

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 9 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Buffington,
in the records of 2 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 States501 records

501 records of the Buffington name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 319
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 127
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 30
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 13
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 5
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 3
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 2
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 2
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Henry J. Buffington

    Born 1916 in Maryland. Enlisted 1942 at Baltimore; stock clerk from Baltimore City. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1999, buried at Crownsville Veterans Cemetery, Maryland.

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

    Born 1945; from Barnesville, Georgia. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1967 in Binh Duong, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Elisha Buffington

    Arrived at New York in 1883 aboard the Britannic from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 46; merchant.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 501 records for Buffington in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia13 records

13 records of the Buffington name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 8
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 3
  • Tasmanian Names Index 2
  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 John Buffington

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Arab, sailing from England in 1822. Native of Ipswich, Suffolk.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Leslie Berend Buffington

    Storeman of Pascoe Vale Sth, Victoria; died 1980.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record B. L. Buffington

    Sailed from Victoria in 1892 aboard the Wendouree, aged 57.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 13 records for Buffington in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0). 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); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Buffington.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Buffington 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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