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

Drain, 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 Drain surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Drain in America

Drain is the 8527th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Drain surname appeared 3,859 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Drain.

We can also compare 2010 data for Drain 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 Drain

The surname Drain is of English origin, emerging in the 13th century. It is derived from the Old English word "drægene," which means "a water channel or ditch." The name is believed to have been initially given as a nickname or occupational name to someone who lived near a drainage ditch or worked as a ditch digger.

The earliest recorded instance of the surname Drain can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Shropshire from 1275, where a person named Robert le Drein is mentioned. This spelling variation highlights the name's evolution from the Old English root word.

Another early reference to the name appears in the Somerset Assize Rolls of 1280, where a certain William Dreyn is listed. This record suggests that the name was present in various regions of England during the medieval period.

One of the earliest notable individuals with the surname Drain was Sir John Drain (c. 1400-1475), a wealthy merchant and landowner from Lincolnshire. He is known for his involvement in the construction of the famous Boston Stump, a prominent church tower in the town of Boston.

In the 16th century, the surname Drain can be found in various historical records, such as the Parish Registers of Yorkshire, where a family by the name of Drayne is recorded in the village of Ripley in 1589.

Another prominent figure with this surname was Sir Robert Drain (1594-1668), an English soldier and politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Bedfordshire in the 17th century. He was a staunch supporter of the Parliamentarian cause during the English Civil War.

The surname Drain also has connections to place names. For instance, the village of Drayton in Oxfordshire is believed to have derived its name from the Old English words "dræg" and "tun," meaning "a settlement by a drainage channel."

Other notable individuals with the surname Drain include John Drain (1775-1857), a British painter known for his landscapes and pastoral scenes, and William Drain (1807-1865), a Scottish-born American architect who designed several notable buildings in New York City.

It is worth noting that the surname Drain has undergone various spelling variations over the centuries, including Dreyn, Drayne, Draine, and Drayn, among others. These variations reflect the linguistic and regional influences on the name's evolution.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Drain

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

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 Drain 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 Drain 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 Drain was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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