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Buck Family History

Buck Name Meaning

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). 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). German and Dutch (Limburg): from a personal name a short form of Burkhard (see Burkhart ). North German and Danish: nickname for a fat man from Middle Low German būk ‘belly’. Compare Bauch . German and Dutch (Limburg): variant of Bock . 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’.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022


Similar surnames: Beck, Back, Duck, Bick, Puck, Buch, Bock, Huck, Rock, Bruck

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Where is the Buck family from?

You can see how Buck families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Buck family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Buck families were found in USA in 1880. In 1911 there were 598 Buck families living in Ontario. This was about 58% of all the recorded Buck's in Canada. Ontario had the highest population of Buck families in 1911.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Buck surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.

What did your Buck ancestors do for a living?

In 1921, Farmer and Clerk were the top reported jobs for men and women in the Canada named Buck. 35% of Buck men worked as a Farmer and 13% of Buck women worked as a Clerk. Some less common occupations for Americans named Buck were Trapper and Stenographer. .

View Census Data for Buck | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Top Male Occupations In 1921

  • Farmer
    35%
  • Labourer
    11%
  • Laborer
    8%
  • Trapper
    5%

Top Female Occupations In 1921

  • Clerk
    13%
  • Housewife
    10%
  • Household Duties
    9%
  • Stenographer
    9%
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What Buck family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 399,000 census records available for the last name Buck. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Buck census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search Canadian census records for Buck

Passenger Lists

There are 37,000 immigration records available for the last name Buck. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in Canada, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

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Draft Cards

There are 65,000 military records available for the last name Buck. For the veterans among your Buck ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

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What is the average Buck lifespan?

Between 1940 and 2004, in the United States, Buck life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1945, and highest in 2002. The average life expectancy for Buck in 1940 was 36, and 76 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Buck

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