Find out how popular the last name Drab is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Drab.

Drab, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Drab surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Drab in America

Drab is the 45804th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Drab surname appeared 466 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Drab.

We can also compare 2010 data for Drab to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Drab

The surname DRAB is believed to have originated in England during the medieval period. It is derived from the Old English word "draeb," which means "drab" or "dull-colored." The name was likely first used as a descriptive nickname for someone who wore drab or dull-colored clothing.

The earliest recorded instance of the surname DRAB can be found in the Rotuli Hundredorum, a census-like survey of England conducted in the late 13th century. In this record, a person named Roger le Drab is listed as residing in the county of Norfolk.

Another early reference to the name DRAB appears in the Lay Subsidy Rolls of 1332, which were tax records. These rolls mention a John Drab living in the village of Ashton in Wiltshire.

During the 15th century, the surname DRAB can be found in various records from the county of Yorkshire. For example, the Testamenta Eboracensia, a collection of wills and testaments from the Diocese of York, includes the will of a Thomas Drab dated 1436.

In the 16th century, the DRAB surname began to appear in parish records and other documents across various regions of England. One notable individual from this period was Richard Drab, a merchant from London who was born around 1550.

By the 17th century, the DRAB surname had spread to other parts of the British Isles. In Scotland, for instance, a man named James Drab was recorded as living in the town of Ayr in 1642. Meanwhile, in Ireland, a William Drab was listed as a landowner in County Kilkenny in the 1670s.

Over the centuries, the DRAB surname has been associated with several notable figures. One of the earliest was Sir John Drab, a military commander who fought in the Wars of the Roses during the 15th century. In the 18th century, there was a famous English architect named Thomas Drab, who designed several notable buildings in London, including the Church of St. Mary Woolnoth.

Other notable individuals with the DRAB surname include the English novelist Mary Drab (1799-1875), who wrote several popular novels during the Victorian era, and the American businessman and philanthropist Joseph Drab (1845-1921), who founded the Drab Foundation, a charitable organization that supported education and social causes.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Drab

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Drab.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Drab was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Drab has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Drab was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Drab, please contact us.

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