Buck
Usually a nickname from the male deer, later also applied from house or trade signs using the buck as an emblem.
The #812 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 7,241 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Buck comes from Middle English buck, “male deer,” ultimately from Old English and closely related Germanic words for a buck or stag. In surname use, it first appears as a nickname for a quick, vigorous, or deer-like person, and it could also be taken from a signboard or heraldic emblem showing a buck. Some later Buck surnames may also be local, formed from place-names or compounds containing buck, but the animal nickname is the main source.
History
Medieval records show Buck early as a sobriquet, and later it became established as an inherited surname. It also spread through England in forms attached to local places and to occupational or sign-name references, which is why some later compounds are harder to explain than the simple nickname. The surname is common enough today to have several unrelated origins under the same spelling.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Early surname writers often grouped Buck with other animal-based surnames like Wolf, Fox, Hare, and Hart as vivid medieval nicknames.
From the historical record
“possessed by the fomily in early times. BUCK. The animal, famed in the chase, and familiar as an armorial ensign and as a trader's sign. Le Buc. H.R. 6^"BUCK. Many local surnames have been borrowed from this animal, some of which are not readily explainable, as Buckmill, Buckthought, Buckner, and Bucktootli.…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom