Given name & surname
Buffy
“my God is bountiful”·“God is my oath”·“My God is bountiful”
In English use, Buffy is an affectionate form of Elizabeth. “God is my oath” is the etymological interpretation given for Elisabeth, the same name in a different spelling. “My God is bountiful” is another recorded interpretation, but the two should be kept distinct rather than blended into one literal translation.
Meaning & origin
What it means
In English use, Buffy carries the interpretation “my God is bountiful.” In English use, Buffy is an affectionate form of Elizabeth. “God is my oath” is the etymological interpretation given for Elisabeth, the same name in a different spelling. “My God is bountiful” is another recorded interpretation, but the two should be kept distinct rather than blended into one literal translation.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is English.
How it developed
In English use, Buffy is used as an affectionate form of Elizabeth. In English use, Buffy is an affectionate form of Elizabeth. The shared background comes through Elizabeth: English generally uses Elizabeth with a z, where many European languages retain Elisabeth with an s. Elisabeth is connected with Elisheba; its final element may have been reshaped through association with Hebrew shabbath, “sabbath.”
Combines direct and name-family evidence
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1951. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. In English use, Buffy is an affectionate form of Elizabeth. The history of Elizabeth gives this family its wider story. The New Testament Elisabeth is the mother of John the Baptist. English royal associations include Elizabeth I and, in the twentieth century, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon and her daughter Elizabeth II. Elizabeth’s familiar forms developed along several paths, including Eliza, Beth, Bess, Betty, Libby and Lizzie.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Buffy through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 3,312
- 6 boys · 3,306 girls
- Most popular year
- 1971
- 320 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +100%
- Rising fast
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for girls is 6 in 2024. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for girls was 319 in 1972. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 2,865 as a first name in 2020; a sample rank of No. 38,483 among surnames in 1990.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Buffy’s family of names
In English usage, Buffy is a diminutive of Elizabeth. Buffy has a related form in Buffie. Buffy is an affectionate form of Elizabeth.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 8
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
People named Buffy
Characters named Buffy: Buffy Summers (lead character of Buffy the Vampire Slayer).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Buffy, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Liza
“my God is bountiful” · “God is my oath”
>99% girls
Lisa
“my God is bountiful” · “God is my oath”
>99% girls
Betsie
“God is my oath” · “My God is bountiful”
>99% girls
Bethie
“God is my oath” · “My God is bountiful”
>99% girls
Candy
“a queen” · “one who is white and glowing”
>99% girls
Becky
“one who is bound to God”
>99% girls
Sarita
“princess”
>99% girls
Lise
“resembling a rising salmon”
>99% girls