Buffington
An English-style surname most likely from a place name meaning “the settlement of Bufa’s people” or from an older local place-name element now obscured.
The #4,063 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 35,334 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Buffington is generally understood as an English locational surname, formed from a place name ending in -ton, meaning “farmstead,” “estate,” or “settlement.” The first element is probably an old personal name or local name, though its exact source is uncertain; in many such names, the sense is “the settlement associated with X.” Because the early place-name evidence is obscure, the surname’s literal meaning cannot be stated with complete confidence.
History
Like many English locational surnames, Buffington would have been adopted by people who moved away from the original place and were identified by their former home. The name is well established in English-speaking countries, especially the United States, but it remains relatively uncommon. Its modern distribution likely reflects both British origins and later immigration or internal migration.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because the name is uncommon, many bearers today are probably descended from only a few early family lines rather than from a large number of unrelated local origins.