Buckley (name)

Buckley - Ó Buachalla
PronunciationIrish (/oː bˠuːaxal̪ˠl̪ˠa/) Old English (/bʌkliː/)
Origin
MeaningIrish: buachall meaning boy
Old English: bucc and leah meaning goat and wood
Region of originIreland and England

Buckley is a surname, first recorded in England in the 13th Century with separate English and Irish origins, the latter anglicised to Buckley, It is common in both countries, as well as Canada and the United States.

Being two separate names originally, the Irish name was anglicised to Buckley at a later date. The Irish name origin,[1] The English Surname and placename 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

Fictional characters

See also

References

  1. ^ "O'Buhilly, Buckley", goireland.com, archived from the original on 18 March 2006
  2. ^ a b c "Buckley". Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press. 2013.
  3. ^ Rochdale Families - Buckley Archived April 25, 2005, at the Wayback Machine, rochdale.gov.uk. URL accessed February 15, 2007.