Buckingham
A habitational surname for someone who came from Buckingham, the county town of Buckinghamshire in England.
The #4,394 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 38,145 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname comes from the English place-name Buckingham. The place-name is generally taken to mean 'the home or settlement of Bucca's people,' from an Old English personal name Bucca plus the tribal suffix -ingas ('people of') and -ham ('homestead' or 'village'). In other words, it began as a locational byname for someone from that place.
History
Medieval records show the name in forms such as 'de Buckingham,' reflecting origin-based surname use. It remained especially associated with England and later spread widely in English-speaking countries through migration. The surname is also well known from the English aristocratic title Duke of Buckingham.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The place-name Buckingham is old enough that its surname form can be traced in medieval records with the Latin preposition 'de' meaning 'of' or 'from.'
From the historical record
“Boycutt,' an extra-parochial liberty in CO. Oxford, three miles from Buckingham. The evidence is in favour of this parentage. Johannes de Boykot^ co. Bncki, , Johi”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances