Buckley (name)
| Pronunciation | Irish (/oː bˠuːaxal̪ˠl̪ˠa/) Old English (/bʌkliː/) |
|---|---|
| Origin | |
| Meaning | Irish: buachall meaning boy Old English: bucc and leah meaning goat and wood |
| Region of origin | Ireland and England |
Buckley is a surname originating from either Ireland or England where it is particularly common, as well as Canada and the United States.
Some sources outline an Irish origin,[1] whereas others outline an Old English origin.[2]
Spelling variations include Bucklie, Buckly, Bulkley, Buhilly, Ó Buachalla, and Boughla.
Origins
The English surname is credited by some unknown sources as being of Old English origin, either as a habitation surname derived from settlements named Buckley, Buckleigh or Bugley, or as an occupational surname from the Anglo-Saxon words Bucc and Leah, meaning goat and wood.[2]
A branch of the Buckley family lived in Buckley in Rochdale, England for many centuries.[3] They gave their name to Buckley Hall, a manor house found within the locality. Their name is said to derive from "bleak hill" and they can be traced back to a "Geoffrey de Buckley".
In Ireland, Ó Buachalla, taken from the Irish word 'buachaill' originally meaning 'herdsman' (in modern Irish it has come to mean 'boy'), was anglicised early as Ó Boughelly, Boughla, Buhilly and later as Buckley.
The German surnames Büchle and Bücheli have been anglicised as Buckley.[2]
Notable Buckleys
People and fictional characters with the name include:
Surname
Given name
- Buckley Belanger (born 1960), Canadian politician
- Buckley Machin (1901–1963), Australian politician
- P. Buckley Moss (1933–2024), American painter
- Buckley Roderick (1862–1908), Welsh solicitor and international rugby union forward
Fictional characters
- Buckley, a dog in The Royal Tenenbaums
- Buckley (King of the Hill)
- Evan Buckley, or Buck, from 9-1-1
- Robin Buckley, from Stranger Things
- Buckley, an Irish soldier in the British army during the Crimean War, who features in Joyce's novel Finnegans Wake
See also
References
- ^ "O'Buhilly, Buckley", goireland.com, archived from the original on 18 March 2006
- ^ a b c "Buckley". Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press. 2013.
- ^ Rochdale Families - Buckley Archived April 25, 2005, at the Wayback Machine, rochdale.gov.uk. URL accessed February 15, 2007.