Surname:Buckner

The surname Buckner is generally either an English surname attested as early as the 13th century or an Anglicized version of the German surnames Buchner and Büchner (a German name spelled Buckner is known but extremely rare). The English version originated in western Oxfordshire, England, with the earliest instances being associated with residents of the villages of North Leigh (Augustine Bokenore, a villein, 1279)^[1] and South Leigh (Thomas Bockenore, 1262)^[2]. The modern-day distribution of the name in England still shows a marked concentration in Oxfordshire and neighboring Berkshire. Many early instances are of the form "de Bockenore," which indicates Bockenore was the proper name of a place, though this place has not been identified. Known Middle English spelling variations include Bokenor, Bockenore, Bokenore, and Bukenore, with and without the prefix. The modern form Buckner is first known in the early 16th century, but intermediate forms are fairly common into the 17th century when the two main forms Buckner and Bucknor became firmly established. The Bucknor variant is still fairly common outside the United States and is the dominant form in Jamaica and West Africa. It should be noted that in the 16th and 17th centuries, the Buckner and Bucknor forms often alternated freely, though some families had distinct preferences. The German-originated form, found chiefly in the United States and Canada, often alternated with the original Buchner spelling as well as the form Boughner. It is sometimes confused with the names Bickner, Bucknel, Buckney, and Bruckner, but these are usually just transcription errors and do not appear to be persistent variant forms. An early theory promulgated by W.A. Crozier^[3] and the infamous genealogical charlatan Gustav Anjou^[4] that Buckner is derived from the Medieval English surname Bykenore (Bicknor) has not been substantiated.

Variants:

• Buckner - most common form found today
• Bucknor - common variant, dominant form in West Indies, West Africa, and Ireland up to the 20th century
• Bucknar - rare variant used for several generations in London in the 17th and 18th centuries and otherwise an occasional variant spelling
• Buchner - a very common German surname that sometimes is confused with Buckner or was regularly reflected as Buckner in families immigrating to the English-speaking world; it also alternates with the Buckner spelling occasionally even in German-language contexts
• Büchner/Buechner - a fairly common German surname that sometimes is confused with Buckner or was reflected as Buckner in families immigrating to the English-speaking world
• Boughner - originally German Buchner, this is a form that historically alternated in one particular Canadian-American family