# Buckley (surname)

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 Old English origin.
Spelling variations of Buckley include Bucklie, Buckly, Bulkley, Buhilly, Ó Buachalla, Boughla and others.

## Origins

The English surname is credited by some unknown sources as being of Old English 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.
A branch of the Buckley family lived in Buckley, Greater Manchester, in Rochdale for many centuries. They gave their name to Buckley Hall, a manor house found within the locality. Their name is said to derive from "bleak hill" and they can be traced back to a "Geoffrey de Buckley".
In Ireland, Ó Buachalla, taken from the Irish word 'buachaill' originally meaning 'herdsman' (in modern Irish it has come to mean 'boy'), was anglicised early as Ó Boughelly, Boughla, Buhilly and later as Buckley.

## Notable Buckleys

* A. J. Buckley (born 1978), American actor
* Abel Buckley (1835–1908), British manufacturer
* Alan Buckley (born 1951), British football manager
* Albert Buckley (1877–1965), British Conservative politician
* Alexander Buckley (1891–1918), Australian Victoria Cross recipient
* Andrew Buckley (field hockey) (born 1973), New Zealand field hockey player
* Ann Buckley, Irish musicologist
* Anna Buckley (1924–2003), American politician
* Anthony Buckley (born 1937), Australian film editor and producer
* Arthur Buckley (1891–1974), Australian politician
* Austin Buckley (born 1960), Irish hurler
* Barbara Buckley (born 1960), American attorney and Democratic Party politician
* Barry Buckley (1938–2006), Australian musician
* Ben Buckley (born 1967), Australian businessman and footballer
* Betty Buckley (born 1947), American actress
* Brad Buckley (born 1952), Australian artist
* Brandon Buckley (born 2000), English professional footballer
* Brian Buckley (footballer, born 1935) (1935–2014), Australian rules footballer who played for Carlton
* Brian Buckley (political advisor) (1935–2013), Australian rules footballer who played for Footscray
* Bridget Buckley (born 1955), British rower
* Bryan Buckley (born 1963), American film and commercial director and screenwriter
* Caleb F. Buckley (1841–1879), American politician
* Carol Buckley (born 1954), American elephant caregiver
* Cecil Buckley (1830–1872), Royal Navy officer, Victoria Cross recipient
* Charles Buckley (disambiguation), several people
* Cheryl Buckley (born 1956), British design historian
* Christine Buckley (1940s–2014), Irish activist
* Christopher Augustine Buckley (1845–1922), "Blind Boss" Buckley, 19th century political boss in San Francisco, California
* Christopher Buckley (novelist) (born 1952), American author, son of William F. Buckley Jr.
* Connie Buckley (1915–2009), Irish hurler
* Curtis Buckley (born 1970), football cornerback
* Dan Buckley, American comic books executive
* Daniel Buckley (1890–1918), one of the survivors of the sinking of the RMS Titanic
* David Buckley (born 1976), British composer of film and television scores
* David Joss Buckley (born 1948), British screenwriter, playwright, author, actor, and musician
* Delron Buckley (born 1977), South African footballer
* Denis Buckley (born 1990), rugby union player from Ireland
* Dennis J. Buckley Jr. (1920–1943), United States Navy sailor and Silver Star recipient
* Dick Buckley (1925–2010), American radio presenter
* Dick Buckley (baseball) (1858–1929), American baseball player (MLB)
* Din Joe Buckley (1919–2009), member of the Cork Hurling 4 in row team 1941–1944
* Donie Buckley, Irish Gaelic footballer and coach
* Dylan Buckley (born 1993), footballer
* Ed Buckley (1889–1932), footballer
* Edward Pery Buckley (1796–1873), British Liberal and Whig politician
* Edmund Buckley (disambiguation), several people
* Eldra Buckley (born 1985), American football player
* Ellen Buckley (1909–2009), American military nurse
* Elsie Finnimore Buckley (1882–1959), English writer and translator
* Emerson Buckley (1916–1989), American conductor
* Eric Buckley (1868–1948), English clergyman
* Esther Buckley (1948–2013), American educator
* Gail Lumet Buckley (1937–2024), American journalist and author
* Ginny Buckley (born 1970), British television presenter
* Graham Buckley (born 1963), Scottish footballer
* James Buckley, several people
* Jean Buckley (1931–2019), All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player
* Jeff Buckley (1966–1997), American songwriter, son of Tim Buckley
* Jenny Buckley (born 1979), Irish television presenter
* Jessie Buckley (born 1989), Irish actress
* Jimmy Buckley (died 1943), British World War II pilot and POW
* John Buckley (disambiguation), several people
* Jonathan Buckley (born 1991), Aerospace engineer and notable physicist
* Jorunn Jacobsen Buckley (born 1944), Norwegian-American professor
* Keith Buckley (born 1979), vocalist for Every Time I Die
* Kevin Buckley (born 1959), American baseball player (MLB)
* Laura Buckley (1977–2022), Irish artist
* Leila Buckley (1917–2013), English poet, writer and translator
* Lord Buckley (Richard Myrle Buckley, 1906–1960), American monologist
* Matthew Buckley, British actor
* Maurice Buckley (1891–1921), Australian Victoria Cross recipient
* Melanie Buckley (born 1982), English chess master
* Mick Buckley (English footballer) (1953–2013), English footballer
* Mortimer J. Buckley (born 1969), American financial executive
* Nathan Buckley (born 1972), Australian rules footballer
* Neil Buckley (born 1968), English footballer
* Olivia Buckley (1799-1847), English harpist, organist and composer
* Pamela Buckley (1951–1976) American murder victim
* Patricia Buckley (1926–2007), American socialite, wife of William F. Buckley Jr.
* Raymond Buckley (born 1959), American politician from New Hampshire
* Rebecca Buckley (born 1933), American pediatrician and medical educator
* Roger Buckley (1937–2020), American historian, novelist, and Asian Americanist
* Samuel Botsford Buckley (1809–1884), American botanist and naturalist
* Shane Buckley (born 1992), Irish rugby player
* Sigebert Buckley (1520–1610), only monk of Westminster to survive the Reformation
* Stephen Buckley (born 1959), Australian rules footballer
* Steve Buckley (journalist) (born 1956), American sports journalist
* Terrell Buckley (born 1971), American football player and coach
* Thomas H. Buckley (1897–1960), American politician who served as Massachusetts Auditor
* Thomas J. Buckley (1895–1964), American politician who served as Massachusetts Auditor
* Thomas Buckley (1942–2015), American anthropologist and Buddhist monastic
* Tim Buckley (1947–1975), American songwriter
* Troy Buckley (born 1968), American college baseball coach
* Vincent Buckley (1925–1988), Australian poet, teacher, editor, essayist, and critic
* Walter Buckley (footballer) (1906–1985), English footballer
* Walter F. Buckley (1922–2006), American sociologist
* William Buckley (convict) (1776–1856), Australian convict
* William F. Buckley Jr. (1925–2008), American writer and conservative leader
* William Francis Buckley (1928–1985), CIA employee captured by Hezbollah