2000
#126,400
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 125
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Dreer
An occupational surname referring to a dealer or trader.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 127 Americans carry the last name Dreer. That puts it at #148,665 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,698,853 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dreer 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
127
1 in 2,698,853
Census rank
#148,665
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
111
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 111 bearers of the surname Dreer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 148665th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dreer, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dreer
The surname Dreer is of German origin, derived from the Old German word "drehen" which means "to turn" or "to twist". It is believed to have originated in the 13th century as an occupational surname given to those who worked as turners or throwers.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname Dreer can be found in various medieval documents from the regions of Bavaria and Saxony in Germany. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Hans Dreer, a turner from the town of Nuremberg, whose name appears in a guild register from 1387.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the surname Dreer began to spread across other parts of Europe as a result of migration and trade. In England, there are records of a William Dreer, a merchant from Hamburg, who settled in London in the early 1600s and established a successful trading business.
One notable figure in history who bore the surname Dreer was Johann Dreer, a German clockmaker and inventor who lived from 1647 to 1703. He is credited with developing one of the earliest known mechanical clocks with a pendulum escapement, which greatly improved the accuracy of timekeeping.
Another individual of note was Heinrich Dreer, a German botanist and horticulturist who lived from 1778 to 1853. He is renowned for his contributions to the study of plant taxonomy and for establishing one of the first modern botanical gardens in Germany.
In the United States, the Dreer surname can be traced back to the late 18th century when several families of German descent bearing the name immigrated to Pennsylvania. One of the earliest recorded instances was that of Johann Dreer, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1783 and later became a successful farmer in Bucks County.
Over the years, the Dreer name has been associated with several notable individuals, including Henry A. Dreer, a prominent horticulturist and seedsman born in 1818 in Philadelphia. He founded the Dreer Nursery, which became one of the largest and most respected nurseries in the United States during the 19th century.
Another significant figure was William F. Dreer, born in 1860, who was a renowned collector of medieval and Renaissance art and donated a substantial portion of his collection to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dreer
Among Census respondents with the surname Dreer, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Dreer 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 Dreer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.7% · 104
- Two or more races3.6% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dreer
Dreer 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
#134,712
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 125
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 8,312 places
2020
#148,665
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
-14 bearers (-11.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 13,953 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #126,400 | 125 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #134,712 | 125 | 0.04 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Down 8,312 places |
| 2020 | #148,665 | 111 | 0.04 | -14 bearers (-11.2%) | Down 13,953 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 Dreer 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 | #134,712 | #148,665 | -10.4% |
| Count | 125 | 111 | -11.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dreer bearers went from 125 to 111 (-11.2% change). The surname moved down 13,953 positions in the national ranking, going from #134,712 to #148,665.
FAQ
Dreer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dreer?
Name Census estimates that about 127 living Americans carry the surname Dreer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,698,853 residents.
How common is Dreer?
Dreer ranks #148,665 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 111 people with the surname Dreer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (127), 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 Dreer.
Has Dreer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dreer went from 125 recorded bearers to 111. That is a decrease of 14 (-11.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #134,712 to #148,665.
What does the Census say about the background of Dreer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dreer, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (2.7%). 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 Dreer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.7% (104 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dreer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.7%), Two or More Races (3.6%), Hispanic (2.7%). 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 Dreer (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 Dreer mean?
An occupational surname referring to a dealer or trader. 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 Dreer (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 share the surname Dreer?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.