Buckley Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Buckley Family History

Buckley Family History

The ancient origin of the name Buckley was found in the irishsurnames.com archives. Meaning 'dweller at the buck deer meadow', this name is of Anglo-Saxon descent spreading to the Celtic countries of Ireland, Scotland and Wales in early times and is found in many mediaeval manuscripts throughout the above islands. Examples of such are a David de Buckelay of Yorkshire, England who was recorded in the 'Hundred Rolls' in the year 1273. In Ireland the name was quite common in County Offaly, where it appeared in the 1659 petty census. A family of Buckleys claim to be the descendants of the 'Cow Herd of Saint Manahan', and hereditary bearers of the shrine. The Gaelic form of the name is O'Buachalla, the sept being located in County Offaly.

A sept or clan is a collective term describing a group of persons whose immediate ancestors bore a common surname and inhabited the same territory. It is also the case that many Irish septs or clans that are related often belong to a larger groups, sometimes called tribes. For example the 'Tribes of Galway' consisted of fourteen distinct families. The 'Tribes of Kilkenny' were ten families, etc.

In modern times the name is most often found in Counties Cork and Kerry.The Buckley family crest (or coat of arms) came into existence many centuries ago. The process of creating these coats of arms began as early as the eleventh century although a form of Proto-Heraldry may have existed in some countries prior to this, including Ireland. The new more formalized art of Heraldry made it possible for families and even individual family members to have their very own family crest, coat of arms, including Buckley descendants.