Buss

This article is about the surname. For other uses, see Buss (disambiguation).

Buss

The English coat of arms of the Buss family. Blazon: Gules a cinquefoil pierced ermine
Pronunciation	/ˈbʌs/
Origin
Word/name	Old French and others
Meaning	Various
Region of origin	England and Germany
Other names
Variant form(s)	Busse, Bus, Buß, Büss, Bušs, Búss, and others

Buss is a surname of Anglo-Saxon origin, typically used by people of English or German ancestry, such as biologist Leo Buss, teacher Frances Buss, and Nottingham-based sportsman Michael Field-Buss. The surname continues to be concentrated in England and Germany, as well as in the United States as a result of immigration from the two originating countries. With a number of etymological roots and circa one thousand years of history in its present form, the surname has a number of variants and cognates, most notably Busse.

Etymology

Derivations and etymologies of surnames can be numerous, although a common etymology is the original bearer’s occupation because, when surnames began to be adopted in England and Germany, it was typical for someone to have the same job for life and to pass down the requisite knowledge and skills to their descendants due to limited social mobility. The most frequent origin of Buss is as a metonymic occupational name for a cooper, which itself is the more popular occupational surname, Cooper. Whereas Cooper comes from Old English or Low German, Buss is an apocopal form of the Old French word busse, which was brought into Middle English and means cask or barrel. The meaning of barrel was occasionally used metaphorically for a rotund person (in reference to them being barrel-shaped), leading to Buss being used as a cognominal surname, and the meaning of barrel was also used in individual cases for someone who could drink the entire contents of a cask. The Old French word busse should not be confused with the Middle Low German word büsse meaning box, gun, or rifle, which led to Busse being the metonymic occupational name for box makers and gunsmiths, and which led to the names of the blunderbuss, arquebus, and Brown Bess guns, through the Dutch word for gun, buis.

Initially, other than occupational names, surnames were often local toponymic names derived from a place name where a person held land, from where they had come, or from where they actually lived. Local surnames were originally preceded by surname prepositions such as von, de, atte, by or in, such as the unrelated French surnames Debus and De Bussy, both of which are habitational names from several places France, rather than altered spellings of Buss(e). Some nobility, such as the Silesian von Busse family, chose to keep these prepositions to set themselves apart from others with the Buss name. The Middle Ages were a time when most people were illiterate and a location’s address was often just a descriptive phrase that made use of a convenient landmark, such as a bush. Buss is also a local surname that comes from the Old French word bus, meaning bush or wood, and was also used for people living or working near or in a prominent bush or wood, both of which are the more popular surnames, Bush and Wood. The thick local dialects of the medieval period would have contributed to the change from Bush to Buss(e), and may be how the wooded hill called Buss in Tübingen, Germany, and the 32-resident forest-encircled hamlet called Buss in Trentino, Italy, got their names.

Name researchers, known as anthroponomasticians, have speculated that because Buss was used in Middle English for a Dutch or Flemish type of ship, a Herring buss (Haringbuis in Dutch), the surname may have been an occupational surname for sailors of these ships, in much the same way that Buss Island, a phantom island, was named after the type of ship that the alleged discoverers used. Similarly, the surname variant Buse has this same etymology.

Etymologies of surnames also include derivations from personal names and nicknames. For example, it was reported in Patronymica Britannica in 1860 that Buss was a common nickname for men named Barnabas, and the patronymic surname may in some cases be derived from that. Buss is also a patronymic surname that derives from a hypocoristic form for Old High German and Old Saxon names beginning with Burg (meaning castle), such as Burghard, Burghart, and Burghardt, as well as personal names derived from these such as Burkhard and Burkhart. It is also a nickname for men with the forename or surname Buster, although the surname Buster is of unrelated etymology. Further, the Buss surname may also be derived from the Flemish forename Bus, which is also the nickname Bus.

Forename adoption

Surnames in some instances have been derived from forenames and, in much the same way, names that were traditionally surnames are occasionally used as forenames. This interchangeability between forenames and surnames arises because the use of a mononym was usual practice until mononymity slowly declined in England and Germany in the Middle Ages. An example of a surname being used as a forename is the medieval English surname Gladwin, meaning good friend (derived from Old English glæd + wine), which was used as a forename by Gladwin Kotelawala and Gladwin Hill, and became the forename Gladwyn.

However rarely, Buss has been used as a unisex forename on occasion, with an estimated 253 people globally, including c. 130 people in the United States, using it as a forename. For all of recorded history, Buss has never ranked in the top 100 masculine or feminine forenames in England and Wales, and nor has it ranked in the top 1000 masculine or feminine forenames in the United States. The Buss forename is similar to the male nickname Buzz, and the two have even been used interchangeably, as with Buss Warren. Examples of Buss as a nickname include Albert "Buss" Hicks, cofounder of the Iota Phi Theta fraternity, and Thomas Knyvett’s daughter, Elizabeth, who was affectionately known as Buss. As a given name, male and female examples respectively include Buss Courtney, a fictional character in Pistols 'n' Petticoats, and Buss Laird, a mother who ran from an escaped bear at Elysian Grove Pleasure Park.

Variants and cognates

Anglo-Saxon names typically have multiple variants, and even one person's name would have been spelt differently throughout their lifetime because the English language lacked a comprehensive system of spelling rules (known as orthography) for most of its history due to widespread illiteracy, with standardised spelling only beginning in the 19th century. For example, Johann Bussemacher signed his name as "Jans. Busse", "Jo Buss", and other names throughout his life. This interchangeability between Buss and Busse, which are pronounced the same in English, and the cognate relationship between the two, with common etymology from Old French, leads to Busse being the most common variant of Buss.

Derivations and variants from the cooper occupational name include Bus (pronounced /ˈbʌs/ ), Búss (pronounced /ˈbuːs/ ), and Buse (pronounced multiple ways, including /ˈbjuːz/ , /ˈbuːziː/ , and /ˈbuːzɛ/ ), although these names also have other unrelated etymologies. The surname variant Buse is a homonym for a Turkish feminine forename meaning kiss, just as Buss is a homonym for the English noun and verb buss, meaning kiss. Derivations and variants from the bush local name include Bussmann (pronounced /ˈbʌs.mən/ ), Busst (pronounced /ˈbuːst/ ), Busson (pronounced /ˈbusən/ ), Bussche (pronounced /ˈbʊʃə/ ), Bysshe (pronounced /ˈbɪʃ/ ), Bušs, Buș, Bush, Bushe, and Busch, with the latter five pronounced /ˈbʊʃ/ because some languages using Latin script use orthographic transcription for all foreign names; for example, George Walker Bush is written Džordžs Volkers Bušs in Latvian and Corc Uoker Buş in Azerbaijani. Further, Bussing is a North German patronymic surname from Buss, and the Norse female variant of the male name Buss was Bussa. The Bussa surname today is usually of unrelated origin, as are other homeophones and homeographs such as Busa, Busso, Bussow, Bussi, Bussie, Bussy, Bussey, Bussard, Bussink, Bussell, Bussert, Bussler, Büsser, Bussher, Bussiki, Bussotti, Bussetti, Bussaglia, Bussière, Bussières, Bussenius, Bussian, Bauss, Beus, Beusse, Buhse, Booz, Booze, Bess, Biss, and Bass.

Variants can arise from the fluidity of spelling across differing geographies and countries. For example, the Polish village Busewo is known as Buß is German. For the surname, Germans more typically replace the double S with an Eszett (ß) to become Buß, as used by Franz Josef Ritter von Buß of Baden, for example, and this might change the pronunciation for some with the name. For example, the use of ß distinguishes the German words Buße (pronounced /ˈbuːsə/ , meaning penance) and Busse (pronounced /ˈbʊsə/ , meaning busses), as there is a long vowel before ß and a short vowel before ss. To show that his surname used the long vowel, Franz Xaver Buß also spelled his surname as Buhs when using the standard Latin alphabet, which has the same pronunciation as the surname of Johann Christoff Büss, and the Danish variant of the name, Buus, pronounced /ˈbuːs/ . Variants of the Danish surname Buus include Bus and Boss, although these names also have other unrelated etymologies.

Heraldry

The German coat of arms of the Buss family.
Shield	Party per fess, in chief argent a cross hummetty gules, the base per pale, in dexter base gules an eagle dimidiated and displayed sable, and in sinister base or an eagle displayed sable

Armoured men were unrecognisable in medieval battle so, from the 12th century, knights emblazoned their personal coats of arms onto their over-armour tunics, known as a surcoats, and by the 13th century heritable heraldry had developed alongside the development of hereditary surnames. Coats of arms were primarily for and by men, with little or no involvement of women in heraldry because knights were exclusively male at the time, but the reasons behind the designs of most historic coats of arms are now unknown, and the Buss coats of arms could have been influenced by women. Chevaliers would wear their lady’s colours to represent homage or fealty to her, considering themselves her vassal, and chivalrous men may have similarly included allusions to their inamorata in their personal coats of arms, as this period was the height of Domnei, gynolatric courtly love, and chivalric romance, in which knights errant would endeavour to prove their ardour and commitment, and express their unrequited but unconditional love, lifelong infatuation, and limerent adoration, by nobly subjecting themselves to self-sacrificing quests, tests, and ordeals; acting in their lady’s name; and obediently performing whatever deeds were desired by the woman that they respectfully and loyally idolised, worshipped, or considered their muse or goddess, without any aspiration for carnal contact or consummation. Although the Buss name has existed since no later than the adoption of coats of arms and of courtly love, having been used since the 11th century, it is not known when individuals or families with the Buss name began using coats of arms. The most used coats of arms for Buss families are those for the English and the German branches of the family, although variant names such as Bus and Busse have their own coats of arms.

Notably, Johannes Rietstap produced the Armorial Général, a voluminous source for European heraldic research that contains blazons of the coats of arms of more than 130,000 families, including many for the Bus surname. The meaning or symbolism of some heraldic charges is unknown, such as for the cinquefoil on the pictured undifferenced English escutcheon, and on the similar arms of the town of Leicester. The heraldic eagle, while rare in British heraldry, is common on German coats of arms, and is used in both full and dimidiated form on the pictured German coat of arms, which is provided as from Rietstap's Armorial General in Halbert's Registry of Busses, a scam genealogical book, but is disputed by a Buss family genealogist and descendent of Robert William Buss. The dimidiation shows that the German coat of arms was created by marshalling two or more coats of arms.

In one instance, a coat of arms for a Buss family was granted in Lincoln, with the blazon of a silver field charged with three black bars, and a crest of a sea wolf. Other coats of arms are known to depict a buss ship; however, that does not signify that the bearer had any association with such ships as it may be an example of canting arms, whereby coats of arms feature heraldic charges which represent the bearer's name or profession in a visual pun. For example, the common heraldic charges of laurel wreaths, branches, or leaves might be used on the personal coat of arms of a knight named Lauren, which was an uncommon male name until the 20th century and which derives from the Latin name for the laurel tree. Such use is a double pun because laurel branches also appear on the coat of arms for Cooper, an occupational surname for the same profession as for Buss.

Geographical distribution

Whilst Buss is an Anglo-Saxon surname, it is unknown whether the first Buss surnames in England and Germany had the same origin, given the multitude of etymologies, but it is known that German surnames developed in the medieval period from impermanent bynames. The German surname Buss was first found in Baden, in the South West of Germany, where the family came from humble beginnings but increased their social standing over multiple generations. Since no later than the 19th century, the Buss surname in Germany has been concentrated in the North West. Germany hosts c. 850,000 surnames and Buss is the 1617th highest ranked, below Busse, which is ranked 412th; and below Buß, which is ranked 1353th. When Buss and Buß are considered as one, the surname is ranked 684th most popular in Germany.

Originally, the English surname was first found in Norfolk, England, where a Buss family held a family seat. The byname appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, where a Siward Buss, John Buss, and Richard Buss are recorded at Brasted in Kent, in the South East of England, showing that the name has existed in this form since the late 11th century, at the latest. This long history is notable because surnames were only introduced into England after the Norman conquest of 1066, and it took until 1400 for most English families to adopt the use of hereditary surnames. Other early records of the name in use, in all its variations, include Richard Walter Busse, who was listed in the Pipe Rolls of Norfolk in 1195; Matilda Bus, who was documented in County Oxford in 1273; and Willelmus de Busse and Adam Busse, who were listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax of 1379. The Buss family name in England was historically concentrated in the South East and, in 1891, there were 311 Buss families living in Kent, 192 in Sussex, 171 in London, 66 in Surrey, and 53 in Essex, comprising in total over 75% of all Buss families living in the UK at the time. To this day, the Buss surname in the UK remains concentrated in the South East of England.

Records show that, as the world's third most populous country, the United States now hosts the highest number of people with the Buss surname in the world, after thousands of English families travelled to the New World in the 17th and 18th centuries in search of a better life. Early examples of such settlers include William Buss, who arrived in New England in 1640, and John Buss, who arrived in New Hampshire in 1678. Whilst some surnames are at risk of extinction, the high number of people with the surname in the United States relative to the rest of the world is also attributable to the high growth rate, growing 670% between 1880 and 2014, compared to just 183% in England and 200% in Ireland for approximately the same period. The difference in growth rates between the Buss populations in the United States and Britain is also observable in literature, with the Buss name being increasingly referred to, but having a c. 5 times faster growth rate in the United States than Britain between 1880 and 2014, according to Google Ngram Viewer. Buss is now the 3,865th most popular surname in the United States with 9,177 people using the surname according to the 2010 census, 95.65% of whom identify as being of the white race. The popularity of the surname is reduced because of the large number of variants it has, as they are all recorded separately. For example, for the Busse variant name, 2,369 American descendants of just Friedrich and Johanna Busse, who emigrated from Germany in 1848, attended a then-record breaking family reunion in 1998 in Mount Prospect, Illinois, the village in which they are the most prominent family and have had roads, schools, woods, and parks named after them due to their disproportionate involvement in the community.

Statistics for global surname popularity are not readily and precisely available as no global record-keeping system exists for surnames, but it is estimated that Buss is the 19,350th most common surname in the world, with c. 28,390 people using it. The surname is searched for on Google in 186 out of 241 geographic regions, and is used in at least 84 countries, including Brazil, in which c. 20% of bearers of the surname reside. Although the United States hosts the most people with the Buss surname, the highest density of people with the Buss surname is in Latvia, with one Buss in every 4,076 Latvian people. The relatively high proportion of people using the Buss surname in Latvia is not because of migration from Britain and Germany, but because Bušs is the local transcription of the far more popular surname Bush.

Distribution maps

Heat maps are pictured below to show the distribution of the Buss surname in selected geographies, where dark red indicates a relatively high occurrence, which transitions to light yellow for progressively lower occurrence. Grey is used where there is no known occurrence of the name in that geography.

• 
  Global distribution of the surname, with concentrations in England, Germany, the US, and Brazil
• 
  English distribution of the surname, concentrated in the South East
• 
  German distribution of the surname, concentrated in the North West
• 
  American distribution of the surname, concentrated in populations of high German ancestry

Historical occupations

In Canada in 1921, 44% men with the Buss surname were farmers, 35% were labourers, and 5% were clerks. Buss women are now closely associated with teaching due to the achievements of Frances Buss in Britain, who was the first person ever to use the title Headmistress and, in 1921, 67% of Canadian women with the Buss surname were teachers, and the remaining 34% were farmers. In the present day, Canadians bearing the Buss name earn 3.94% more than the national average.

Persistently, every decade from 1841 to 1911, people with the Buss surname in England were highly likely to work as labourers, farmers, servants, and other working class jobs, although from 1851 to 1891, the most common profession was that of a scholar, and for the decade beginning in 1911 it was that of a school teacher. By 1939, 10% of men with the Buss surname were general labourers, 8% were farmworkers, 7% were gardeners, and 6% were bricklayers. Women, by contrast, typically did not work at this time as rising household wealth led to women leaving the labour force, with 79% supporting unpaid domestic duties and a further 4% being housewives.

Similarly, in the United States in 1940, 27% of men were farmers, 15% were labourers, 4% were salesmen, and 4% were truck drivers. Of women, 12% were housewives, 11% were housekeepers, 7% were stenographers, and 6% were maids. Because people bearing the Buss name typically performed manual labour, their life expectancy of 36 was much lower than that of the general population, which was 42. This gap increased after the United States entered World War II, with life expectancies of 26 and 42 respectively. In the present day, Americans bearing the Buss name have a life expectancy higher than average due to a higher social status that leads them to earn 3.76% more than the national average.

Bearers of the Buss surname

Notable individuals

• Leo Buss, (born 1953), Yale University professor in evolutionary developmental biology
• Arnold H. Buss (1924–2021), psychology professor at University of Texas at Austin
• Uwe Buß (born 1967), German theologian and author of young adult novels
• Robert William Buss, (1804–1875) artist, illustrator, and father of teacher Frances Buss
• Emily Buss, American lawyer and professor at the University of Chicago Law School
• Nick Buss (born 1986), American baseball outfielder in Major League Baseball

Notable families

Gerald “Jerry” Hatten Buss (1933–2013), son of Lydus Buss, was the patriarch of the most notable modern family with the Buss surname. He was a doctor of physical chemistry, a real estate magnate, and a sports executive who owned the Los Angeles Lakers at the time of his death. It was worth $1 billion at that time, so his 66% ownership gave him a net worth of c. $600 million. He left an equal 11% of the sports team to each of his children:

• Johnny Buss (born 1956), LA Lakers Executive Vice President of Corporate Development
• Jim Buss (born 1959), former LA Lakers Head of Basketball Operations
• Jeanie Buss (born 1961), LA Lakers President
• Janie Buss (born 1963), LA Lakers Director of Charitable Services
• Joey Buss (born 1985), LA D-Fenders (an LA Lakers subsidiary) President and Chief Executive
• Jesse Buss (born 1988), LA Lakers Assistant General Manager and Director of Scouting

List of Busses

A

• Adam Buss, finalist in the 2001 Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year and Nottingham-based actor
• Albert Buss-Wenger (1862–1912), Swiss entrepreneur in railway, bridge and tunnel construction
• Alcides Buss (born 1948), Brazilian poet
• Alexander Buss, one of the actors who played Michael Llewelyn Davies in The Lost Boys
• Alexis Buss, General Secretary-Treasurer of the Industrial Workers of the World
• Alfred Buss, Präses of the Evangelical Church of Westphalia
• Alois Buss (1858–1926), Czech teacher and politician
• Andrei Buss, Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic
• Arnold H. Buss (1924–2021), psychology professor at University of Texas at Austin and codeveloper of the Buss–Perry Aggression Questionnaire
• Arthur Edward Buss (1905–1999), designer of the stained glass for St John's Church and St Peter's Church
• Art Buss (1911–1998), American football tackle in the National Football League
• Arturs Bušs, manager of Latvian football team FK Liepājas Metalurgs
• Audrey Buss, mother of British playwright, screenwriter, filmmaker Hanif Kureishi

B

• Benjamin Buss (born 1977), musician best known by his stage name, Matthew Greywolf
• Bertilho Buss, mayor of Rondolândia
• Brad Buss, former director of Tesla, Inc and Chief Financial Officer at SolarCity
• Brett Buss, champion in the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association’s 2016 Grass Roots Series Final
• Bruna C. Buss, Brazilian entomologist

C

• C. L. Buss, developer of Oak Forest Infirmary
• Carl A. Buss, co-writer of Wagon Wheels
• Chad Buss, Principal of Barron High School, Wisconsin
• Chad A. Buss, Republican Party candidate in the 2018 Iowa Senate election
• Charles Buss, businessman and brother of Frederic Buss, whose commercial interests together included Sunnyside Sugar Plantation
• Christian Buß (born 1968), German journalist and critic
• Clarence Buss (1913–1974), English cricketer more commonly known as Sam Buss
• Claude A. Buss (1903–1998), American diplomat
• Claudia Buß (born 1978), German medical psychologist

D

• Dave Buss, NCAA Division II Coach of the Year 1979
• David Buss (born 1953), evolutionary psychologist who has researched topics such as love
• David Buss (born 1956), vice admiral of the United States Navy
• Dillon Buss (born 1988), filmmaker, actor, and fiancé of Tallulah Willis

E

• Edbert C. Buss (1884–1935), American football and basketball coach
• Edwin Buss, Florida Department of Corrections Secretary who announced that Florida prisons ban inmate smoking
• Emily Buss, American lawyer and professor at the University of Chicago Law School
• Eric Buss, comedian and magician who appeared on America's Got Talent
• Eric Buss, executive chef who appeared on the cooking program Chopped
• Ernst Buss (1843–1928), Swiss Protestant priest who chronicled the Rockslide of Elm
• Esther Buss (born 1972), German art and film critic
• Eugen Buß (born 1943), German sociologist

F

• Fanny Buss (1910–1986), textile and fashion designer
• Fran Leeper Buss (born 1942), author of Journey of the Sparrows and winner of the Jane Addams Children's Book Award
• Frances Buss (1827–1894), British teacher, headmistress, founder of North London Collegiate School, and pioneer of women's education, whose family came from Holland
• Frances Buss Buch (1917–2010), the first female television director in the US, who added the Buch name after her marriage to Bill Buch
• Franz Josef Ritter von Buß (1803–1878), German Roman Catholic jurist, activist and politician
• Franz Xaver Buß (1790–1883), mayor of Bad Kreuznach, who also spelled his surname as Buhs
• Fred Buss, first co-director of Brigham Young University’s Alpine Summer School
• Frederic Harold Buss (1907–1969), mayor of the City of Bundaberg
• Frederic William Buss (1845–1926), influential Australian businessman after whom Buss Park is named

G

• Gábor Olivér Búss, co-writer of Hungarian improvisational comedy show Beugró
• Gary Buss, linebacker for Wisconsin Badgers football team in 1970
• George Buss, Progressive Party candidate in the 1981 Manitoba general election
• George Buss, member of the Royal National Agricultural and Industrial Association of Queensland in 1922
• George Stanley Buss, Lieutenant-Commander of the Royal Navy, who was awarded the MBE in 1957
• Gerhard Buß, player for Eintracht Braunschweig football club
• Guy Buss, songwriter for Brookes Brothers’ single Carry Me On
• Gyula Buss (1927–2008), Hungarian actor

H

• Hans Buß, German medieval master builder of late Gothic religious buildings in Württemberg
• Hansjörg Buss (born 1971), German historian
• Harlan Buss, Professor of Music at Morningside College who taught Kristine Jepson
• Harold George Buss, Deputy Chief Valuer at the Inland Revenue, who was awarded the CBE in 1949
• Harry Buss, actor who starred in Barnaby Rudge, The Heart of Midlothian, The Cloister and the Hearth and the 1912 film Ghosts
• Heiko Buss, husband of German sprinter Sabine Richter
• Heinz Buss (1919–?), German teacher and politician (LDPD)
• Henrique Adriano Buss (born 1986), Brazilian footballer
• Henry Buss, developer of a poolroom and dancehall in prohibition-era Govenlock
• Herbert Buß (born 1949), German painter and graphic artist
• Herman Buss, co-founder of the Capuchin Soup Kitchen
• Hermann Buß (born 1951), German painter
• Hermann von Buss (1847–1912), Austrian field marshal lieutenant
• Hero Buss, German journalist who was present at the kidnappings recounted in News of a Kidnapping
• Hinrich Buß (1937–2007), German Lutheran theologian and clergyman
• Holger Buss, co-founder of MikroKopter, a drone manufacturer
• Horace Austin Buss, major in the Royal Air Force who was awarded the OBE in 1919
• Horace Buss, member of the Royal National Agricultural and Industrial Association of Queensland in 1922
• Howard J. Buss (born 1951), American composer of contemporary classical music

I

• Isabella Buss, actress in the Visible Poetry Project and The Mole

J

• James Buss (died 20 March 1917), Leading Seaman on the HMS E19 submarine in WWI who died in action of disease whilst in Estonia
• Jeanie Buss (born 1961), American sports executive; daughter of Jerry Buss
• Jens Buss (born 1997), Chilean footballer
• Jerry Buss (1933–2013), American sports executive and owner of the Los Angeles Lakers
• Jessel Buss, director of films such as Gaúcho Negro (1991) for Diler & Associados
• Jim Buss (born 1959), American sports executive; son of Jerry Buss
• Johann Philip Buss, two-time Champion of the Baden Baden International tennis tournament
• Johnny Buss (born 1956), American sports executive; oldest son of Jerry Buss
• Jonathan Buss, writer and director of Express: Aisle to Glory and producer of 7 Days in Hell amongst other works
• Joseph Buss, founder of Providence Strict Baptist Chapel
• Juliette Buss, staff member at Photoworks
• Jūliuss Bušs (1879–1907), Latvian Lutheran pastor of German descent
• Jym Buss, producer on Wahlburgers, which was nominated in 2014 for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program

K

• Karen Buss, lawyer for Fort McKay First Nation
• Karl-Heinz Buss, German sprinter in the 1999 World Masters Athletics Championships
• Kārlis Bušs (1873–1920), Minister of Trade and Industry of Latvia in the Provisional Government
• Kate Buss, second class passenger of RMS Titanic from Sittingbourne, Kent, who survived its sinking and also wrote Jevons Block
• Katheryn Buss (born 1993), American cyclist in the 2017 and 2018 Tibco–Silicon Valley Bank team
• Kenneth Caron Buss, wing commander of the Royal Air Force who was awarded the OBE in 1929
• Kim Buss (born 1986), German badminton player who came runner up in the 2010 BWF Season’s Hungarian International
• Klaus Buß (born 1942), former mayor of Eckernförde

L

• L. C. Buss, representative of the Associated Chamber of Commerce in the 1934 Indian general election
• Ladina Buss (born 1988), Swiss bronze medal winner in the World Triathlon Cross Championships
• Lana Buss, wife of American actor Matthew Ashford
• Lars Buss (born 1978), German basketball player
• Leo Buss, (born 1953), Yale University professor in evolutionary developmental biology who authored the taxon name of Hydractinia symbiolongicarpus
• Lindsay Buss, Director of Development at Martha's Table
• Lotte Buss (?-1952), wife of Bernhard Weiß, Vice President of the Berlin police during the Weimar Republic
• Lynn Buss, linebacker for the 1968 Wisconsin Badgers football team in the 1969 Philadelphia Eagles season

M

• Malwina Buss (born 1991), Polish actress
• Marie Buss, Democratic Party candidate in the Iowa Senate, District 39 General Election, 1952
• Martin Buß (born 1976), German high jumper
• Mary Buss, actress in horror films Camp Cold Brook, Climate of the Hunter and Agnes
• Mary Buss, mother of land developer Thomas Bones
• Matthias Buss (born 1967), German actor in films such as Zur Sache, Macho!
• Maty Buss, executive producer of Havana Elsa
• Michael Buss (born 1955), President of the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Western Australia
• Michael Field-Buss (born 1964), former English cricketer for Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club
• Mike Buss (born 1944), English cricketer and brother of Tony Buss

N

• Nadine Buss, cinematographer on films such as The Tower and Negative Space
• Nate Buss, basketball payer in the 2021–22 Winthrop Eagles men's basketball team
• Nick Buss (born 1986), American baseball outfielder in Major League Baseball

O

• Ojārs Bušs (1944–2017), Latvian linguist and anthroponomastician
• Otto Michael Buss (1939–2007), CDU Member of the Landtag of Hesse

P

• Paolo Buss, planner for the South American Institute of Government in Health
• Pat Buss, UKIP Candidate in the 2007 City of Lincoln Council election
• Patricia J Buss, Democratic candidate in the 1992 and 1996 Wisconsin Senate elections
• Peter Buss, UKIP candidate in the 2014 Harlow District Council election
• Peter Martin Buss Jr. (born 1967), Executive Bishop of the General Church of the New Jerusalem
• Peter Martin Buss Sr. (born 1940), Executive Bishop of the General Church of the New Jerusalem
• Dr Philipp Buss, German tennis player who played in the Davis Cup and against the likes of Georges Glasser

R

• Ralph Buss (born 1982), Swiss chess player
• Renata Buss, model, former "Miss Berlin", and wife of artist Jerry McDaniel
• Ray Buss, Penn State player in the 1950 Soccer Bowl
• Richard Buss, actor in the musical comedy romance film Swing
• Rick Buss, cofounder of medical device manufacturer Osteomed
• Robert L Buss, American fighter pilot whose plane crashed
• Robert William Buss, (1804–1875) artist, illustrator, and father of teacher Frances Buss
• Robin Buss, writer and translator at Penguin Classics and The Times
• Chancellor Roger Buss, Mayor of Poole who opened the Dolphin Shopping Centre after its expansion
• Roger Buss (died 1965), military communications official of the 362nd Signal Company
• Rose Buss, organiser for the New Democratic Party

S

• Samuel Buss (born 1957), American computer scientist and mathematician who created bounded arithmetic theories
• Santa Buss, composer for the Second Movement Opera
• Sarah Buss, philosopher awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2020
• Sebastian Buss, one of the actors who played Michael Llewelyn Davies in The Lost Boys
• Sergio “Serj” Buss, musician who has worked with Aquiles Priester and Dr Sin
• Stuart Austen "Sammy" Buss (1900–1943), Commander in the Royal Navy, Captain of HMS Electra in WWII, and killed in action on HMS Dulverton
• Sumeeth Reddy Buss (born 1991), Indian badminton player

T

• Tatiana Buss, Brazilian tennis player who has played against Inés Gorrochategui, Cláudia Chabalgoity, and others
• Ted Buss, biographer of Lloyd Ruby
• Tito Buss (1925–2013), Brazilian Roman Catholic bishop
• Tony Buss (born 1939), English cricketer and brother of Mike Buss
• Trevor J Buss, People First Party candidate in the 2007 Shepway District Council and 2009 Kent County Council elections
• Tyra Buss, record holder in Indiana Hoosiers women's basketball, assistant coach at Milwaukee Panthers, and fiancée of Brad Davison

U

• Uldis Bušs, Latvian ice hockey linesman who played in the world championships in 2018, 2020, and 2022
• Uwe Buß (born 1967), German Protestant theologian and author of young adult novels

V

• Verena Buss (born 1944), actress in West German films such as The Smooth Career
• Vladimir Buss (born 1978), football player in the Russian Premier League
• Volker Buß (born 1942), German chemist

W

• Walter Buss (1920–2017), judge at the Federal Social Court
• Wendy Buss, actress in dark comedy Abby Singer
• Werner Buß (born 1945), German politician
• Wilfried Buss (born 1951), German politician
• Wilhelm Buss, Panzer commander and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
• Wolfgang Buss (born 1944), German sports scientist and sports historian

Unknown

• Mrs. Buss lived at Lyndhurst, Clayfield in the 1930s

Fictional characters

• Bob Buss, manager of the fictional band 2gether, played by Alan Blumenfeld
• Gerry Buss, played by Ray Cooney in the play Chase Me, Comrade, and by Ian Lavender in the film Not Now, Comrade
• Howard Buss, Mayor in Picket Fences, played by Robert Cornthwaite
• Mister Farken Buss, a comedic name announced on an airport public address system by Paul Garner to sound like "missed the fucking bus"

See also

English:

• Living people with surnames beginning with Buss
• Buß
• Busse
• Bus
• Buse
• Bussmann
• Bush

German:

• Buss
• Buß
• Busse
• Bus
• Buse
• Bussmann
• Bush

Further reading

The following is a list of genealogical books, articles, and reports for families with the Buss surname:

• Buss, Daniel (14 April 1888). Genealogy of the Buss family and their descendants. Keene, New Hampshire. Retrieved 20 March 2022.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) Available here.

• Cutter, Daniel B (1881). History of the town of Jaffrey, New Hampshire, from the date of the Masonian charter to the present time, 1749-1880. Concord, New Hampshire: Republican Press Association. p. 243-245. Retrieved 20 March 2022. Available here.

• Stock, Jon (2009). Our Wisconsin ancestors: the German immigrants of the 1880's: Genealogy of the Buss, Dunst, Graewin, Mueller, Stoeck, and Wille families. Baraboo, Wisconsin: JonsGen Publishing. p. 43-51. Retrieved 20 March 2022. Available here.

• Giese, Ronald L (2000). The Johann Christian David Wolfgram family: with notes on the family groups of Buss, Goebel, Klug, Knarr, Sylwester, Vossberg, and Frank Wolfgram. Middleton, Wisconsin. Retrieved 20 March 2022.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) Available here.

• Buss, Walter R; Osborne, James H (1998). Some descendants of Richard and Sarah Wood Buss of Kent, England. Lawndale, California: Ogden Family History Center. Retrieved 20 March 2022. Available here.

• Jones, Marjorie Stith. The Family of Eilt & Janna Buss Hinrichs. Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin: FamilySearch International. Retrieved 20 March 2022.

• Baum, Deborah L (2001). The Buss family history: Gerd Berens Hinrichs Buss of Ostfriesland, his ancestors and descendants, 1687-2001. Marceline, Missouri: Walsworth Publishing.

• Buss, William Claude (1994). Johannes Jacob Buss, 1703-1785. San Bernardino, California: William Claude Buss.

• Buss, Richard Henry (2007). Ancestors and descendants of Reuben H. Buss of Northampton County, Pennsylvania: a family history. Annapolis, Maryland: Richard Henry Buss.

• Kidder, Mary R (1957). Buss family. Sherman, New York.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

• Buss Jr., Robert E (1986). The Buss Family, 1800-1986. Sparta, New Jersey.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

• Knight, Wayne B (2005). A genealogy of Richard Knight: 1683 of Connecticut and/or Rhode Island, and some of his descendants to the year 2003, including some records of the Burrington, Buss, Christiansen, Cornish, Miles, Ring and Segur family lines. Arroyo Grande, California: Wayne B Knight.

• Gordon, Robert H (1950). The Gordon-Buss-Julius families of Minnesota and Illinois (Report). Retrieved 20 March 2022. Available here.

• Mills, Rena Snodgrass (1978). Hinrich H. (Henry) Buss descendants, 1805-1978 (Report). Retrieved 20 March 2022. Available here.

• The family of James Buss (Report). Retrieved 20 March 2022. Available here.