# Buster (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/buster/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | not recorded |
| Meaning | “pockmark”, “boil” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈbʌstɚ/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 8,178 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 8,173 / 5 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 439, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Austrian German Buste (“pockmark, boil”), from Latin apostema (“boil”), + -er.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1918 | 5 | 4,919 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 14 | 5,991 |
| 2012 | 11 | 7,141 |
| 2013 | 12 | 6,660 |
| 2014 | 18 | 5,093 |
| 2015 | 17 | 5,331 |
| 2016 | 13 | 6,418 |
| 2017 | 13 | 6,376 |
| 2018 | 10 | 7,709 |
| 2019 | 12 | 6,843 |
| 2020 | 11 | 7,113 |
| 2021 | 7 | 9,885 |
| 2022 | 21 | 4,731 |
| 2023 | 12 | 6,960 |
| 2024 | 13 | 6,521 |
| 2025 | 12 | 6,871 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 12 | 1,788 |
| 2012 | 18 | 1,367 |
| 2013 | 35 | 850 |
| 2014 | 40 | 781 |
| 2015 | 29 | 996 |
| 2016 | 33 | 914 |
| 2017 | 35 | 888 |
| 2018 | 28 | 1,013 |
| 2019 | 18 | 1,369 |
| 2020 | 15 | 1,548 |
| 2021 | 14 | 1,688 |
| 2022 | 14 | 1,692 |
| 2023 | 6 | 3,112 |
| 2024 | 11 | 2,088 |
| 2025 | 8 | 2,664 |

## People named Buster

- Buster Douglas, American boxer
- Buster Posey, American baseball executive and former player (born 1987)
- Buster Williams, American musician
- Buster Bailey, American musician (1902-1967)
- Buster Brown, American blues and R&B singer best known for his hit, "Fannie Mae" (1911–1976)
- Buster Martin, British marathon runner (1906-2011)
- Buster Phelps, American actor (1926-1983)
- Buster Edwards, British criminal (1931–1994)
- Buster Mottram, English tennis player

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.