Arbuckle
A surname probably linked to the place-name Harbottle, with strong roots in northern England and southern Scotland.
The #7,564 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 70,281 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Most historical surname dictionaries treat Arbuckle as a locational name, probably a later altered form of Harbottle. In that view, the name would ultimately point to the Northumberland place-name Harbottle, rather than directly to an occupational or descriptive word. The exact sound changes are not fully certain, so the derivation is usually given as possible rather than absolute.
History
Bardsley and Lower both connect Arbuckle with Harbottle, noting its presence in northern English records and its spread beyond Britain. Barber also treats it as a place-based name, reinforcing the locational explanation. In modern times it is found in Scotland, England, and the United States, though it remains relatively uncommon.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Bardsley remarks that Arbuckle had already crossed the Atlantic and was spreading in the United States by the early 1900s.
From the historical record
“Blast, and others. ARBUCKLE. A possible corruption of Harbottle. ARBURY. ARBERY. A township in Lancashire. ARBUTHNOT. A parish in Kincar- dineshire. The first of the family was Hugh de Aburbothenoth, Avho assumed his surname from the lands which he acquired in 1105 with the daughter of Osbert Olifard,”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom