2000
#147,095
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Drabic
A Polish surname derived from the word "drab" meaning "walking tall".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 133 Americans carry the last name Drabic. That puts it at #145,028 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,577,100 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Drabic surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
133
1 in 2,577,100
Census rank
#145,028
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
116
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 116 bearers of the surname Drabic in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145028th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Drabic, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Drabic
The surname Drabic is of Polish origin, and its roots can be traced back to the Middle Ages. It is believed to be derived from the old Polish word "drab," which means "a small brook" or "a stream." This suggests that the surname may have initially referred to someone who lived near a small body of water, such as a stream or brook.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Drabic can be found in medieval Polish records and documents from the 14th and 15th centuries. One notable mention is in the Teki Naruszewicza, a collection of historical documents from the Duchy of Masovia, where a certain Stanislaw Drabic is listed as a landowner in the village of Gronowo in the year 1432.
During the Renaissance period, the Drabic surname appears to have spread across various regions of Poland. In the 16th century, a merchant named Jan Drabic is recorded as having conducted trade in the city of Krakow, one of the most prominent commercial centers of the time.
As the centuries passed, the Drabic name continued to be associated with various professions and social classes. In the 18th century, a nobleman named Andrzej Drabic is mentioned in the records of the Sejm (Polish parliament) as a representative for the Sandomierz region.
One of the earliest notable figures with the Drabic surname was Jakub Drabic (1775-1842), a Polish patriot and military officer who fought in the Kosciuszko Uprising against the Russian Empire. Another significant individual was Michal Drabic (1857-1925), a renowned Polish linguist and scholar who contributed significantly to the study of the Polish language and its dialects.
Other individuals of note include Franciszek Drabic (1892-1962), a Polish painter and graphic artist known for his landscape and genre paintings, and Wlodzimierz Drabic (1920-2008), a Polish writer and journalist who documented the experiences of Polish soldiers during World War II.
In more recent times, the Drabic surname has been carried by individuals from various fields, including scientists, artists, and professionals. However, as per the instructions, this report focuses on the historical origins and notable figures associated with the surname Drabic, rather than providing modern census data or contemporary examples.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Drabic
Among Census respondents with the surname Drabic, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Drabic bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Drabic surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.4% · 106
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 4
- Two or more races2.6% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 2
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Drabic
Drabic appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#138,304
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
+18 bearers (+17.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 8,791 places
2020
#145,028
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
-5 bearers (-4.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 6,724 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #147,095 | 103 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #138,304 | 121 | 0.04 | +18 bearers (+17.5%) | Up 8,791 places |
| 2020 | #145,028 | 116 | 0.04 | -5 bearers (-4.1%) | Down 6,724 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Drabic surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #138,304 | #145,028 | -4.9% |
| Count | 121 | 116 | -4.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Drabic bearers went from 121 to 116 (-4.1% change). The surname moved down 6,724 positions in the national ranking, going from #138,304 to #145,028.
FAQ
Drabic surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Drabic?
Name Census estimates that about 133 living Americans carry the surname Drabic. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,577,100 residents.
How common is Drabic?
Drabic ranks #145,028 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 116 people with the surname Drabic. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (133), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Drabic.
Has Drabic become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Drabic went from 121 recorded bearers to 116. That is a decrease of 5 (-4.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #138,304 to #145,028.
What does the Census say about the background of Drabic?
Among Census respondents with the surname Drabic, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.6%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Drabic in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.4% (106 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Drabic appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.4%), Hispanic (3.4%), Two or More Races (2.6%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Drabic (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Drabic mean?
A Polish surname derived from the word "drab" meaning "walking tall". The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Drabic (0.04 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Drabic?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Drabic at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.