# Buck (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/buck/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

An English surname transferred from the nickname.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | not recorded |
| Type | place, taken from where an ancestor lived or came from |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 42,639 |
| US rank (2010) | 812 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 7,241 people |
| Change since 2000 | +0.5% (42,441 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /bʌk/, 1 syllable |
| Variant spellings | Bucke, Book |

## Etymology

* For both the English surname and given name, originally a nickname for someone who resembled a buck. * Also as an English topographic surname, from Middle English buk (modern beech). * As a German and Dutch surname, shortened from Burkhard, compare Burkhart. * As a north German and Danish surname, from Middle Low German bûk (“belly”), from Old Saxon būk, from Proto-West Germanic *būk, from Proto-Germanic *būkaz. Compare Bauch. * Also as a German and Dutch surname, variant of Bock. * Also as a German surname, variant of Puck. * As a Germanized Lower Sorbian surname, from buk (“beech”).

## Who carries it

Share of people named Buck in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 88% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 5.7% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.1% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.8% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 1.4% |
| Two or more races | 1.9% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Buck in the United States.

## People named Buck

- Pearl S. Buck, American writer (1892–1973)
- Linda B. Buck, American biologist
- Peter Buck, American musician; guitarist for R.E.M., songwriter, record producer
- Chris Buck, American animator and film director
- Bruce Buck, American lawyer
- Ken Buck, American politician (born 1959)
- Tara Buck, American actress
- Frank Buck, American hunter, animal collector, actor and author (1884–1950)
- Carl Darling Buck, American linguist (1866–1955)
- Sibyl Buck, American model and musician
- C. Douglass Buck, American politician (1890–1965)
- Scott Buck, American screenwriter

and 4 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Beck, Bock, Back, Bouck, Bick, Buick, Busch, Bucci, Bucio, Buch, Bucy, Buske.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.