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,^[1] whereas others outline an Old English origin.^[2]

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

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.^[2]

A branch of the Buckley family lived in Buckley, Greater Manchester, in Rochdale for many centuries.^[3] 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.

• 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)
• 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
• 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 (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

• List of Old English (Anglo-Saxon) surnames
• Buckley (disambiguation)
• Buckby (surname)
• Buckbee

Surname list

This page lists people with the surname Buckley.
If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link.