Show ContentsBuckmaste History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

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Buckmaste Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Etymology of Buckmaste

What does the name Buckmaste mean?

The name Buckmaste was carried to England in the enormous movement of people that followed the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Buckmaste family lived in the settlement of Buckminster, Leicestershire. The surname's derived from residence at location. The place name itself is derived from the Old English elements, Bucca, which was a nickname for a person with a supposed resemblance to a goat, and mynster, meaning monastery. 1

Early Origins of the Buckmaste family

The surname Buckmaste was first found in Leicestershire at Buckminster, a parish, in the union of Melton-Mowbray, hundred of Framland. Buckminster Park, the family seat of the Earl of Dysart, is a noble mansion situated in a park well stocked with deer and embellished with timber. 2

The parish dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086, where it was recorded as Bucheminstre 3

The Pipe Rolls of 1180 record Adam de Bucemenistre in Leicestershire as the first record of the family in early rolls. 4 The Writs of Parliament record Simon de Bokminstre, 1295 and Simon de Bukminstre, 1297 which are presumably entries for the same person. 5

The source Testa de Nevill, sive Liber Feodorum, temp. Henry III-Edward I. includes an entry for Roger de Bukeminstre, Lincolnshire, Henry III-Edward I (during the reigns of Henry II and Edward I. 6

Early History of the Buckmaste family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Buckmaste research. Another 97 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1513, 1514, 1530, 1532, 1539, 1541, 1545, 1546, 1566, 1618, 1623, 1629 and 1769 are included under the topic Early Buckmaste History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Buckmaste Spelling Variations

Endless spelling variations are a prevailing characteristic of Norman surnames. Old and Middle English lacked any definite spelling rules, and the introduction of Norman French added an unfamiliar ingredient to the English linguistic stew. French and Latin, the languages of the court, also influenced spellings. Finally, Medieval scribes generally spelled words according to how they sounded, so one person was often referred to by different spellings in different documents. The name has been spelled Buckminster, Buckmaster, Buckmasters, Buckminsters, Buckmisters, Buckmuster and many more.

Early Notables of the Buckmaste family

  • Thomas Buckmaster (fl. 1566), English divine and astronomer, described in one of his works as a professor of physics, of what university has not been ascertained...
  • William Buckmaster (d. 1545), was Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University, graduating at Peterhouse, Cambridge...
  • 1545, but his effects were not administered (by his nephew, Hugh Buckmaster) until 5 Dec...

Migration of the Buckmaste family

To escape the political and religious persecution within England at the time, many English families left for the various British colonies abroad. The voyage was extremely difficult, though, and the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving. But for those who made it, the trip was most often worth it. Many of the families who arrived went on to make valuable contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. An inquiry into the early roots of North American families reveals a number of immigrants bearing the name Buckmaste or a variant listed above: John Buckmuster, who arrived in Virginia in 1624; Thomas Buckmaster who settled in Boston, Massachusetts in 1630; William Buckminster, who settled in Boston, Massachusetts in 1850.
  1. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  2. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  3. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  4. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  5. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  6. Testa de Nevill or "Liber Feodorum" or "Book of Fees," thought to have been written by Ralph de Nevill, for King John (1199–1216)

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