Buzzard
An English surname that likely began as a nickname, and in some cases was also influenced by the place-name Leighton Buzzard.
The #9,845 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 93,929 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname was probably first used as a nickname from the bird name buzzard, in Middle English busard, itself from Old French busard. In medieval bynames, bird names were often applied to people thought to resemble the bird in some way, though the exact trait was not always recorded. Some bearers may also have taken the name from Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire, where an Anglo-Norman family Bosard or Bossard is said to have been influential.
History
Lower specifically connects Buzzard with an Anglo-Norman family Bosard or Bossard in Bedfordshire in the 14th century and notes their link to the place-name Leighton Buzzard. Bardsley also treats Buzzard among surnames derived from bird nicknames. The surname is uncommon today, but it has long been established in English records and survives in both Britain and the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire preserves the surname element in its place-name, so the town name and the family name have a linked history.
From the historical record
“Berks. BUZZARD. An A-Norm. family, named Bosard or Bossard, were inliuential in Bedfordshire in the XIV. cent., and gave the suffix to Leightou-Buzzard. Lysons. BUZZY. See Bussey. g^°BY. Avery common termination of names of places in the north of Eng- land, many of which have, of course, given names to families. It…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom