2000
#506
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 59,055
First available Census row
Per 100,000 21.89
Uncommon Last name
Drake
An occupational surname referring to a male duck or a nickname for a male with a duck-like gait.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 67,720 Americans carry the last name Drake. That puts it at #560 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 19.76 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 5,061 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Drake 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 Drake with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
68K
1 in 5,061
Census rank
#560
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
19.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
59K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 59,055 bearers of the surname Drake in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 19.76 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 560th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Drake, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.7%. The next largest groups are Black (14.2%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Drake
The surname Drake originated from the Old English word "draca" meaning dragon or serpent. It first appeared in England during the Anglo-Saxon period, before the Norman conquest of 1066. Originally, it may have been a nickname or descriptive name for someone who was considered brave or fierce in battle, like a dragon.
The earliest known recorded spelling of the Drake surname dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086, where it was listed as Drache and Draco. These early renderings suggest the name may have had Norman French influences as well. In the 12th century, it appeared as Draic in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire.
Drake was a fairly common name in medieval England, particularly in the counties of Yorkshire, Derbyshire, and Devon. It may have derived from placenames like Drake Hole in Derbyshire or Drakelow in Worcestershire. The oldest known bearer was William Drake, born in Yorkshire in 1190.
A notable early figure was Sir Francis Drake (c. 1540-1596), the famous English sea captain, navigator, and slave trader who circumnavigated the globe between 1577 and 1580. He was born in Devon and achieved renown for his exploits against the Spanish Armada.
Another prominent Drake was Sir William Drake (1609-1690), an English merchant and royalist during the English Civil War. He was Lord Mayor of London in 1667. Michael Drake (1598-1662) was an English politician and landowner who sat in the House of Commons between 1640 and 1653.
Later, Benjamin Drake (1794-1841) was an American pioneer and founder of Cincinnati, Ohio. The surname also has connections to the Drake family of Asher, Hampshire, including Sir Francis Drake (1617-1662), an English royalist officer during the Civil War.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Drake
Among Census respondents with the surname Drake, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.7%. The next largest groups are Black (14.2%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Drake 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 Drake surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White76.7% · 45,322
- Black or African American14.2% · 8,379
- Two or more races4.4% · 2,577
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 1,956
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 416
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 405
Timeline
Historical Census data for Drake
Drake 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
#549
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 61,162
+2,107 bearers (+3.6%)
Per 100,000 20.73
Rank movement Down 43 places
2020
#560
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 59,055
-2,107 bearers (-3.4%)
Per 100,000 19.76
Rank movement Down 11 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #506 | 59,055 | 21.89 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #549 | 61,162 | 20.73 | +2,107 bearers (+3.6%) | Down 43 places |
| 2020 | #560 | 59,055 | 19.76 | -2,107 bearers (-3.4%) | Down 11 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 Drake 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 | #549 | #560 | -2.0% |
| Count | 61,162 | 59,055 | -3.4% |
| Per 100K | 20.73 | 19.76 | -4.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Drake bearers went from 61,162 to 59,055 (-3.4% change). The surname moved down 11 positions in the national ranking, going from #549 to #560.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Drake
FAQ
Drake surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Drake?
Name Census estimates that about 67,720 living Americans carry the surname Drake. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 5,061 residents.
How common is Drake?
Drake ranks #560 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 19.76 per 100,000 residents, which is about 20 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 59,055 people with the surname Drake. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (67,720), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 19.76 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 19.76 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 20 of them to have the surname Drake.
Has Drake become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Drake went from 61,162 recorded bearers to 59,055. That is a decrease of 2,107 (-3.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #549 to #560.
What does the Census say about the background of Drake?
Among Census respondents with the surname Drake, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.7%. The next largest groups are Black (14.2%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Drake in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.7% (45,322 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Drake appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (76.7%), Black (14.2%), Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Drake (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 Drake mean?
An occupational surname referring to a male duck or a nickname for a male with a duck-like gait. 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 Drake (19.76 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 common is the surname Drake?
For a quick modern take, check how common the surname Drake is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.