Buck
Select
Buck Surname Genealogy
The Buck surname is both English and German in origin.
The English Buck may derive from the Old English bucca, a male goat, or from bucc, a male deer. The name here would have begun as a nickname - for someone with a possible resemblance to the animal in terms of strength, speed or sturdiness. The Buck name could also be topographical, deriving from the Old English boc, a beech tree, and referring to someone living by a prominent beech tree.
Select Buck Resources on The Internet
England. Walter le Buc was said to have come to England from Flanders in the early 13th century as a mercenary to help King John in his battles with the barons. He settled in Yorkshire at what became known as Bucktown.
John Bucke of this family from Harthill supported Richard III at the battle of Bosworth Field in 1485 and subsequently lost his head. Sir George Buck became well-known as an author and antiquarian, his works including a life of Richard III. However, his end too was unfortunate. He fell from favor, was overwhelmed by debt, and died insane. But Bucks of this family by this time were established at Hamby Grange near Leverton in Lincolnshire where they were to remain until the late 18th century.
Other early Bucks were:
The Buck name in the 19th century was primarily to be found in East Anglia, extending northward into Yorkshire and southward to London.
Another Buck family in Virginia began with Thomas Buck who came to York county around 1635. The Bucks were a prominent and well-to-do plantation family in early Virginia. They were active in the local economy, politics and religion of the Shenandoah valley during the 1700's and 1800's.
Early Buck settlers in New England were:
Frederick Buck arrived in Pennsylvania from the upper Rhone valley in Germany in 1743. His son Philip Buck joined the British army during the Revolutionary War. After the defeat his family made the long trek to Canada with other Empire Loyalists.
Johann Jacob Buck, however, did fight on the American side in the War. He had arrived from Wurttemburg on the Neptune in 1751 and settled in Buffalo township, Pennsylvania. So too did the sons of Johannes Buck who had arrived on the Two Brothers in 1747 and came to Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. Nicholas Buck arrived from Lorraine in 1752 and settled in his Buckhill home in Springfield, Bucks county. William Buck published An Account of the Buck Family of Bucks County in 1893.
Ludwig Buck was a German from Friedenstal in south Russia who came to America in the 1890's and ended up in Streeter, North Dakota.
Select Buck Miscellany
Select Buck Names
Walter le Buc was the Flemish founder of the Yorkshire and Lincolnshire Buck family.
Frank Buck was an American big game hunter who became a movie actor in the 1930's and 40's.
Pearl Buck was the American novelist based in China who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1938.
Select Bucks Today
The Buck surname is both English and German in origin.
The English Buck may derive from the Old English bucca, a male goat, or from bucc, a male deer. The name here would have begun as a nickname - for someone with a possible resemblance to the animal in terms of strength, speed or sturdiness. The Buck name could also be topographical, deriving from the Old English boc, a beech tree, and referring to someone living by a prominent beech tree.
The German Bock, which often came to America as Buck, had a similar derivation, from the Old German boc meaning a male goat. It would also have begun life as a nickname. In early Dutch and Belgian annals the name could also be Bouc or Bouck, in early French le Buc or de Buc.
Select Buck Resources on The Internet
- Buck Family History. Thomas Buck of Virginia and descendants.
- Buck Family. Bucks from Germany to Pennsylvania and Canada.
England. Walter le Buc was said to have come to England from Flanders in the early 13th century as a mercenary to help King John in his battles with the barons. He settled in Yorkshire at what became known as Bucktown.
John Bucke of this family from Harthill supported Richard III at the battle of Bosworth Field in 1485 and subsequently lost his head. Sir George Buck became well-known as an author and antiquarian, his works including a life of Richard III. However, his end too was unfortunate. He fell from favor, was overwhelmed by debt, and died insane. But Bucks of this family by this time were established at Hamby Grange near Leverton in Lincolnshire where they were to remain until the late 18th century.
Other early Bucks were:
- John Buck
who was rector at Benston in Norfolk in
1457
(his descendants were to be found in Norwich)
- James Buck who was vicar at Stradbrook in Suffolk in 1649
- and Matthew Buck, lord of the manor of Winterbourne in
Gloucestershire around that time.
The Buck name in the 19th century was primarily to be found in East Anglia, extending northward into Yorkshire and southward to London.
America.
The first Buck in America was the Rev. Richard Buck from Wymondham in
Norfolk who served as the minister of Jamestown from 1610 until his
death in 1624. Buck was a close friend of English planter John
Rolfe and he officiated at the wedding of Rolfe and Pocahontas, the
daughter of the Powhatan chief, in 1614. Buck was later
acknowledged as
one of the "ancient planters" and given a land grant.
Another Buck family in Virginia began with Thomas Buck who came to York county around 1635. The Bucks were a prominent and well-to-do plantation family in early Virginia. They were active in the local economy, politics and religion of the Shenandoah valley during the 1700's and 1800's.
Early Buck settlers in New England were:
- William Buck, a plowwright from Buckinghamshire who travelled with his son Roger on the Increase in 1635 and settled in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
- Isaac Buck who was transported to Boston on the Amitia in the same year for refusing to take the oath of conformity. He gained renown as an Indian fighter when he saved Stockbridge mill from the Indians in 1676. Daniel Buck moved north to Vermont in 1785 and both he and his son Daniel represented Vermont in the US Congress.
- and Emanuel
Buck who came from Norfolk in the 1640's and
Frederick Buck arrived in Pennsylvania from the upper Rhone valley in Germany in 1743. His son Philip Buck joined the British army during the Revolutionary War. After the defeat his family made the long trek to Canada with other Empire Loyalists.
Johann Jacob Buck, however, did fight on the American side in the War. He had arrived from Wurttemburg on the Neptune in 1751 and settled in Buffalo township, Pennsylvania. So too did the sons of Johannes Buck who had arrived on the Two Brothers in 1747 and came to Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. Nicholas Buck arrived from Lorraine in 1752 and settled in his Buckhill home in Springfield, Bucks county. William Buck published An Account of the Buck Family of Bucks County in 1893.
Ludwig Buck was a German from Friedenstal in south Russia who came to America in the 1890's and ended up in Streeter, North Dakota.
Select Buck Miscellany
If you would like to read more, click on the miscellany page for
further stories and accounts:
Select Buck Names
Walter le Buc was the Flemish founder of the Yorkshire and Lincolnshire Buck family.
Frank Buck was an American big game hunter who became a movie actor in the 1930's and 40's.
Pearl Buck was the American novelist based in China who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1938.
Select Bucks Today
Select Surname List
For other surnames check the select surname page where there are to be found the history and genealogy of more than 500 common and notable surnames in the English-speaking world.