Drayke
A masculine name with Old English roots meaning "dragon" or "serpent-like".
Name Census estimates that about 354 living Americans carry the first name Drayke. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Drayke today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Drayke births was 2010 (31 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Drayke. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
354
~ 1 in 968,233 Americans
Peak year
2010
31 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2022 SSA rank
#10,082
Tracked since 1996
Popularity
Drayke: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Drayke from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 174 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Drayke by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Drayke during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Draykes live
Origin
Meaning and history of Drayke
The given name Drayke is a variant spelling of the name Drake, which has its origins in the Old English word "draca" meaning dragon or serpent. This name was initially used as a nickname or descriptive name for someone who was considered fierce or brave like a dragon.
The name Drake can be traced back to the Anglo-Saxon era in England, around the 5th to 11th centuries AD. It was a popular name among the Anglo-Saxons and was often given to warriors or those who exhibited dragon-like qualities of strength and courage.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Drake is found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a record of landowners in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The name is listed as "Drago" and is believed to be a variant spelling of Drake.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Drake or its variants. One of the most famous was Sir Francis Drake, an English sea captain, navigator, and explorer who lived from 1540 to 1596. He was the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe and played a significant role in the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588.
Another notable figure was Joseph Rodman Drake, an American poet and playwright who lived from 1795 to 1820. He is best known for his poems "The Culprit Fay" and "The American Flag."
In the realm of literature, there was Sir Walter Drake, an English writer and naval officer who lived from 1585 to 1637. He is known for his works on navigation and seamanship, including "The World Encompassed by Sir Francis Drake."
The name Drake was also borne by Benjamin Drake, an American historian and author who lived from 1794 to 1841. He wrote several books on the history of the American Indian tribes and the early settlements in the United States.
Another notable figure was Theodore Drake, an American lawyer and politician who lived from 1837 to 1910. He served as a United States Senator from Minnesota and was involved in the establishment of the University of Minnesota.
While the name Drayke is a less common variant spelling, it shares the same rich history and meaning as the name Drake, rooted in the concept of bravery and strength associated with the mythical dragon.
People
Drayke + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Drayke as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with D
Other first names starting with D with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Drayke: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Drayke?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 354 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Drayke going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 968,233 US residents.
Is Drayke a common name?
We classify Drayke as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 358 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Drayke most popular?
The single biggest year for Drayke was 2010, when 31 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Drayke is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Drayke a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Drayke in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.