2000
#8,351
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,643
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.35
Rare Last name
Drain
An English occupational surname referring to a person who drained marshes or who lived near a drainage channel.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,957 Americans carry the last name Drain. That puts it at #9,097 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.15 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 86,620 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Drain 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Drain with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.0K
1 in 86,620
Census rank
#9,097
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,451 bearers of the surname Drain in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.15 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9097th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Drain, the largest self-reported group is White at 58.3%. The next largest groups are Black (32.8%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Drain
Among Census respondents with the surname Drain, the largest self-reported group is White at 58.3%. The next largest groups are Black (32.8%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Drain 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 Drain surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White58.3% · 2,013
- Black or African American32.8% · 1,133
- Two or more races4.5% · 157
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 88
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 31
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 29
Timeline
Historical Census data for Drain
Drain 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
#8,527
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,859
+216 bearers (+5.9%)
Per 100,000 1.31
Rank movement Down 176 places
2020
#9,097
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,451
-408 bearers (-10.6%)
Per 100,000 1.15
Rank movement Down 570 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,351 | 3,643 | 1.35 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,527 | 3,859 | 1.31 | +216 bearers (+5.9%) | Down 176 places |
| 2020 | #9,097 | 3,451 | 1.15 | -408 bearers (-10.6%) | Down 570 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 Drain 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 | #8,527 | #9,097 | -6.7% |
| Count | 3,859 | 3,451 | -10.6% |
| Per 100K | 1.31 | 1.15 | -11.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Drain bearers went from 3,859 to 3,451 (-10.6% change). The surname moved down 570 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,527 to #9,097.
FAQ
Drain surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Drain?
Name Census estimates that about 3,957 living Americans carry the surname Drain. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 86,620 residents.
How common is Drain?
Drain ranks #9,097 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.15 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,451 people with the surname Drain. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,957), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.15 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.15 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Drain.
Has Drain become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Drain went from 3,859 recorded bearers to 3,451. That is a decrease of 408 (-10.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,527 to #9,097.
What does the Census say about the background of Drain?
Among Census respondents with the surname Drain, the largest self-reported group is White at 58.3%. The next largest groups are Black (32.8%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Drain in the 2020 Census, accounting for 58.3% (2,013 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Drain appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (58.3%), Black (32.8%), Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Drain (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 Drain mean?
An English occupational surname referring to a person who drained marshes or who lived near a drainage channel. 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 Drain (1.15 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 surname Drain?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.