Explore the Family Name Buck
The meaning of Buck
1. English: nickname from Middle English buc(ke) ‘male goat’ (Old English bucca) or a ‘male deer’ (Old English bucc). The goat was popularly associated with lecherous behaviour and the deer with timidity and speed. The surname may also be a shortened form of longer occupational names, for example Roger le Bucmanger’ ‘dealer in bucks or venison’, (Warwickshire 1221) or Walter Bucswayn perhaps ‘goatherd’ (Somerset 1327). 2. English: topographic name for someone who lived near a prominent beech tree, such as Peter atte Buk (Suffolk 1327), from Middle English buk ‘beech’ (from Old English bōc). 3. German and Dutch (Limburg): from a personal name, a short form of Burkhard (see Burkhart). 4. North German and Danish: nickname for a fat man, from Middle Low German būk ‘belly’. Compare Bauch. 5. German and Dutch (Limburg): variant of Bock. 6. German: variant of Puck in the sense ‘defiant, spiteful’, or ‘stubborn’. 7. German: topographic name from the field name Buck ‘hill’. 8. Germanized form of Sorbian Buk: topographic name from buk ‘beech-tree’. History: Emanuel Buck came from England to Plymouth Colony in the 1640s and in 1647 settled in Wethersfield, CT.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Buck in the United States?
The popularity of the surname Buck, as per data from the Decennial U.S. Census, has experienced a slight decrease in rank from 2000 to 2010. In 2000, it was ranked at 737 and slipped to an 812 rank in 2010 - a change of -10.18 percent. However, the count of people with the surname Buck did see a marginal increase, going from 42,441 in 2000 to 42,639 in 2010 - an increase of 0.47 percent. The proportion of this surname per 100k people declined by -8.14 percent, from 15.73 in 2000 to 14.45 in 2010.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #737 | #812 | -10.18% |
| Count | 42,441 | 42,639 | 0.47% |
| Proportion per 100k | 15.73 | 14.45 | -8.14% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Buck
When considering ethnicity, the Decennial U.S. Census data shows that the majority of individuals with the surname Buck identified as White in both 2000 and 2010, though there was a slight decrease of -1.96 percent over this period. Meanwhile, the percentage identifying as Hispanic saw the most considerable growth, increasing from 1.30 percent in 2000 to 2.06 percent in 2010, a change of 58.46 percent. The ethnicity categories 'Two or more races' and 'Asian/Pacific Islander' also saw significant increases over the same time frame. Those who identified as 'Black' composed approximately 5 percent of Bucks, which slightly increased over the decade. Lastly, those who identified as 'American Indian and Alaskan Native' remained relatively stable at just over 1 percent.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 89.86% | 88.1% | -1.96% |
| Black | 5.42% | 5.71% | 5.35% |
| Hispanic | 1.3% | 2.06% | 58.46% |
| Two or More Races | 1.38% | 1.92% | 39.13% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 1.42% | 1.43% | 0.7% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 0.62% | 0.78% | 25.81% |
Buck ancestry composition
23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Buck is British & Irish, which comprises 48.7% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are French & German (27.9%) and Eastern European (5.1%). Additional ancestries include Scandinavian, Italian, Spanish & Portuguese, Ashkenazi Jewish, and Indigenous American.
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| ANCESTRY BREAKDOWN | COMPOSITION |
|---|---|
| British & Irish | 48.7% |
| French & German | 27.9% |
| Eastern European | 5.1% |
| Other | 18.3% |
Possible origins of the surname Buck
Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.
Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Buck have recent ancestry locations in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Ireland.
| RECENT ANCESTRY Location | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Greater Manchester, United Kingdom | 86.20% |
| Greater London, United Kingdom | 86.20% |
| Merseyside, United Kingdom | 86.00% |
| Glasgow City, United Kingdom | 86.00% |
| West Midlands, United Kingdom | 85.70% |
What Buck haplogroups can tell you
Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.
The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Buck is R-P311, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup R-P311 is descended from haplogroup R-M343. Other common haplogroups include R-CTS4065 and R-L664, which are predominantly found among people with European and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Wright, Turner, Miller, Harrison, Smith, Brown, Clark, Baker, Johnson, Nelson.
The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Buck surname are: H1, H3, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.
Paternal Haplogroup Origins R-M343Your maternal lineage may be linked to Marie Antoinette
Because it is so dominant in the general European population, haplogroup H also appears quite frequently in the continent's royal houses. Marie Antoinette, an Austrian Hapsburg who married into the French royal family, inherited the haplogroup from her maternal ancestors. So did Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whose recorded genealogy traces his female line to Bavaria. Scientists also discovered that famed 16th century astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus traced his maternal lineages to haplogroup H.
What do people with the surname Buck have in common?
Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.
Preferences
Chocolate Ice Cream
Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.
"Buck" Surname 42.9%
23andMe Users 41.3%
Traits
Misophonia
When sounds made by others, like the sound of chewing or yawning, provoke strong emotional reactions in an individual.
"Buck" Surname 28.2%
23andMe Users 27.9%
Habits
Sugary Drink
Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.
"Buck" Surname 24.9%
23andMe Users 21.1%
Wellness
Migraine
A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.
"Buck" Surname 19.2%
23andMe Users 16.4%
Are health conditions linked to the last name Buck?
The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.
Disease variant frequency by ancestry
Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Buck are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition