Buckley (surname)

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 Anglo-Saxon (English) origin.^[2]

Spelling variations of Buckley include Bucklie, Buckly, Bulkley, Buhilly, Ó Buachalla, Boughla and others.

England

The Buckley family of England were first recorded to be in Cheshire, where the family held a seat from very ancient times.^[2]

This branch of the Buckley family is credited by some sources as being of Anglo-Saxon origin, either as a habitation surname derived from settlements named Buckley, or as an occupational surname from the Anglo-Saxon words Bucc and Leah, meaning goat and wood.^[2]

The surname Buckley is the 435th most common name in the United Kingdom,^[3] or 234th in England and Wales. It is particularly common in Surrey, but also Cheshire, Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire amongst other places.

Rochdale

A branch of the Buckley family lived in Buckley, Greater Manchester in Rochdale for many centuries.^[4] They gave their name to Buckley Hall a manorhouse found within the locality. Their name is said to derive from "bleak hill" and they can be traced back to a "Geoffrey de Buckley".

Ireland

Ó Buachalla, taken from the Irish word 'buachaill' originally meaning 'herdsman' (in modern Irish it has come to mean 'boy'), was anglcised early as Ó Boughelly, Boughla, Buhilly and later as Buckley. The name Buckley in Ireland is derived from the native Gaelic Ó Buachalla Sept that was located in Lemanaghan (Liath Mancháin), Co Offaly, where an important monastery was situated. The Ó Buachalla's claimed to be descendants of the cowherd of St. Manchán or Manahan and hereditary bearers of his shrine, the custodians of which were the O'Moonys of Doon, County Offaly. The last reference to the site as a monastery comes in 1205 when the death of the coarb, (a type of administrator), Gillebrenyn O’ Bichollye (Buckley), is recorded. There was also a sept in north east County Cork at the same time. Both were dispersed by the Cambro-Normans. Patrick Woulfe in his 'Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall' ('Irish Names and Surnames' 1923), says that in the 16th century Buckley was peculiar to Cork, Tipperary, Offaly and especially Kerry. The area surrounding Lemanaghan in Offaly is still home to many Buckley's today. The name still also exists as Buhilly and Boughla in Offaly today. This name was brought to Ulster in the seventeenth Century by settlers.

Buckley is the 99th most numerous name in Ireland.

Notable Buckleys

• AJ Buckley, American actor
• Alan Buckley, British football manager
• Alexander Henry Buckley, Australian Victoria Cross recipient
• Andrew Buckley, New Zealand field hockey player
• Betty Buckley, American actress
• Cecil William Buckley, Victoria Cross recipient
• Christopher Buckley, American author, and son of William F. Buckley, Jr.
• Christopher Augustine Buckley, "Blind Boss" Buckley, 19th century political boss in San Francisco, California
• Delron Buckley, South African footballer
• Dennis J. Buckley, Jr. (1920-1943), United States Navy sailor and Silver Star recipient
• Dick Buckley, American baseball player (MLB)
• Eldra Buckley, American football running back, currently with the Philadelphia Eagles
• Emerson Buckley, (1916-1989), American conductor
• Esther Buckley (1948–2013), American educator
• Ginny Buckley, British television presenter
• Jack Boyd Buckley, American civil engineer
• Jimmy Buckley, British WW2 pilot and POW
• James Buckley (disambiguation), several people
• Jean Buckley, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player
• Jeff Buckley, American songwriter, son of Tim Buckley
• Jenny Buckley, Irish television presenter
• John Buckley (disambiguation), several people
• Jordan Buckley, guitarist for Every Time I Die
• Keith Buckley, vocalist for Every Time I Die
• Kevin Buckley, American baseball player (MLB)
• Leila Buckley (1917–2013), English poet, writer and translator
• Lord Buckley, American monologist
• Matthew Buckley, British actor
• Maurice Vincent Buckley, Australian Victoria Cross recipient
• Mick Buckley (1953–2013), English footballer
• Nathan Buckley, Australian rules footballer
• Patricia Buckley, American socialite, wife of William F. Buckley, Jr.
• Patrick Buckley, Irish Bishop and controversial priest.
• Raymond Buckley, American politician from New Hampshire
• Samuel Botsford Buckley, American botanist and naturalist
• Sigebert Buckley, only monk of Westminster to survive the Reformation
• Shane Buckley (born 1992), Irish rugby player
• Steve Buckley, American sports journalist
• Stephen Buckley former Australian rules footballer
• Terrell Buckley, American retired professional football cornerback
• Thomas Edward Buckley (1846-1902), English zoologist and palaeontologist
• Tim Buckley, American songwriter
• Troy Buckley, American college baseball coach
• Walter F. Buckley, American sociologist
• William Buckley, Australian convict
• William Francis Buckley, CIA employee captured by Hezbollah
• William Frank Buckley, Jr., American author and one of the fathers of modern conservatism

See also

• List of Old English (Anglo-Saxon) surnames

References

1. ↑ O'Buhilly, Buckley, goireland.com. URL accessed February 15, 2007.
2. 1 2 3 Buckley Family, houseofnames.com. URL accessed February 15, 2007.
3. ↑ BUCKLEY, sofeminine.co.uk. URL accessed February 15, 2007.
4. ↑ Rochdale Families - Buckley, rochdale.gov.uk. URL accessed February 15, 2007.