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, whereas others outline an Anglo-Saxon (English) origin.
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.
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.
The surname Buckley is the 435th most common name in the United Kingdom, or 234th in England and Wales. It is particularly common in Surrey, but also Cheshire, Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire amongst other places.
A branch of the Buckley family lived in Buckley, Greater Manchester in Rochdale for many centuries. 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 northeast 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 Buckleys 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.
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
Brian Buckley (footballer, born 1935), Australian rules footballer who played for Carlton
Brian Buckley (footballer, born 1936), Australian rules footballer who played for Footscray
Cecil William Buckley, Victoria Cross recipient
Christopher Buckley, American author, 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 (Richard Myrle 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.
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 "Tim" Buckley (1942 – 2015), American anthropologist and Buddhist monastic
Thomas H. Buckley (1897 – 1960), American politician who served as Massachusetts Auditor.
Thomas J. Buckley (1895 – 1964), American politician who served as Massachusetts Auditor.
Tim Buckley, American songwriter
Troy Buckley, American college baseball coach
Vincent Thomas Buckley, (1925–1988), an Australian poet, teacher, editor, essayist and critic
Walter F. Buckley, American sociologist
William Buckley, Australian convict
William Francis Buckley, CIA employee captured by Hezbollah
William F. Buckley, Jr., American author and one of the fathers of modern conservatism
Din Joe Buckley member of the Cork Hurling 4 in row team 1941-1944
