Buel
Masculine
Buel has no agreed origin and the suggestions are guesses. It is a surname before it is a given name, and reference works offer a French place, a Germanic personal name and an English dialect word without settling on any of them.
How old is the name Buel?
Buel first appears in US birth records in 1888 — 137 years ago. The typical Buel alive today was born around 1927, making them about 98 years old. About 200 people named Buel are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Buel most popular?
Buel peaked in 1898, reaching #804 nationally. See the whole 1898 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Buel
The general who carried the surname arrived late at a battle and was never forgiven for it. Don Carlos Buell brought his army onto the field at Shiloh at the end of the first day, when the Union position had nearly collapsed, and the fresh troops turned the second day into a victory; he then spent the rest of the war being criticized for slowness, was relieved of command, and resigned. Grant, who had been the one nearly overrun, later wrote that he did not think Buell's arrival had been decisive, which did not help. Historians have gone back and forth about him ever since, and the argument is a good example of how a reputation is made by the people who write afterwards.
Meaningnot established
Not established
No derivation has been established. What is documented is the American family: the surname arrives in New England in the seventeenth century, spreads west, and turns up as a given name in the nineteenth in the ordinary way. That is a real history and it is not the same thing as an etymology.
Pronouncing Buel
BYOOL
One syllable with a y-glide after the b, or two if the vowels are separated. Both are heard, and the spelling gives no guidance; the single-l form is the older and Buell with two is commoner as a surname.
Nicknames for Buel
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1888
- Most boys named
- 192265 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #804reached in 1898
- Change vs 1969
- 0.0%5 in 1972, from 5
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Buels among us
people named Buel are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Buel sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Short, unusual and easy to write once the pronunciation is settled.
- It has a documented American family history running back to the seventeenth century.
- It is genuinely rare while containing nothing difficult.
- The syllable count is unsettled and the spelling does not decide.
- Buell with two l's is the standard surname spelling and will be written instead.
- There is no meaning to give a child who asks.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Buel to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Buel? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Buel
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Buels are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 200 people named Buel are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Buel in 2025?
- Buel is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Buel with classmates?
- Buel will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More B names
The most-given names starting with B, all years combined.
Brian#339 · Benjamin#11 · Brandon#261 · Bryan#336 · Bruce#536 · Billy#1068 · Bobby#1097 · Bradley#403
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Buel? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Buel and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle