2000
#1,451
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 22,555
First available Census row
Per 100,000 8.36
Uncommon Last name
Drew
An English occupational surname referring to a hunter or a maker of nets for hunting.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 25,972 Americans carry the last name Drew. That puts it at #1,544 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 7.58 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 13,197 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Drew 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 Drew with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
26K
1 in 13,197
Census rank
#1,544
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
7.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
23K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 22,649 bearers of the surname Drew in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 7.58 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1544th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Drew, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.1%. The next largest groups are Black (17.5%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Drew
The surname Drew has its origins in England, with the earliest records dating back to the 11th century. It is derived from the Old English word "drycraeft," which means "magical power" or "sorcery." The name likely referred to someone who was believed to possess mystical abilities or worked as a practitioner of folk magic.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, a record of landholders in England commissioned by William the Conqueror, there are several entries for individuals with the surname Drew or similar spellings, such as Dryw or Dreu. These entries indicate that the name was present in various counties, including Somerset, Gloucestershire, and Wiltshire.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Drew was Roger Drew, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1195. Another early bearer of the name was Walter Drew, who lived in the village of Broad Windsor in Dorset during the late 13th century.
The surname Drew has been associated with several notable figures throughout history. One of the most famous was Samuel Drew (1765-1833), an English philosopher, metaphysician, and writer who authored works such as "An Essay on the Immateriality and Immortality of the Soul" and "An Essay on the Identity and General Resurrection of the Human Body."
Another prominent individual with the Drew surname was John Drew (1853-1927), an Irish-American actor and theatre manager who co-founded the celebrated Barrymore family of actors. His son, John Drew Jr. (1878-1912), also had a successful career as an actor on the stage and in silent films.
In the world of literature, Benjamin Drew (1812-1903) was an American abolitionist and writer who published "The Refugee: A North-Side View of Life" in 1856, which chronicled the experiences of fugitive slaves in Canada.
The surname Drew has also been associated with places and landmarks. For example, the village of Drewsteignton in Devon, England, derives its name from the Old English words "drycraeft" and "tun," meaning "the settlement of the practitioners of magic."
While the origins of the surname Drew can be traced back to England in the 11th century, it has since spread to other parts of the world, including North America, Australia, and New Zealand, carried by individuals who emigrated from the British Isles.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Drew
Among Census respondents with the surname Drew, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.1%. The next largest groups are Black (17.5%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Drew 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 Drew surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White73.1% · 16,547
- Black or African American17.5% · 3,972
- Two or more races4.4% · 989
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 829
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 178
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 134
Timeline
Historical Census data for Drew
Drew 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
#1,513
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 23,722
+1,167 bearers (+5.2%)
Per 100,000 8.04
Rank movement Down 62 places
2020
#1,544
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 22,649
-1,073 bearers (-4.5%)
Per 100,000 7.58
Rank movement Down 31 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,451 | 22,555 | 8.36 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,513 | 23,722 | 8.04 | +1,167 bearers (+5.2%) | Down 62 places |
| 2020 | #1,544 | 22,649 | 7.58 | -1,073 bearers (-4.5%) | Down 31 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 Drew 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 | #1,513 | #1,544 | -2.0% |
| Count | 23,722 | 22,649 | -4.5% |
| Per 100K | 8.04 | 7.58 | -5.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Drew bearers went from 23,722 to 22,649 (-4.5% change). The surname moved down 31 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,513 to #1,544.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Drew
FAQ
Drew surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Drew?
Name Census estimates that about 25,972 living Americans carry the surname Drew. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 13,197 residents.
How common is Drew?
Drew ranks #1,544 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 7.58 per 100,000 residents, which is about 8 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 22,649 people with the surname Drew. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (25,972), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 7.58 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 7.58 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 8 of them to have the surname Drew.
Has Drew become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Drew went from 23,722 recorded bearers to 22,649. That is a decrease of 1,073 (-4.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,513 to #1,544.
What does the Census say about the background of Drew?
Among Census respondents with the surname Drew, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.1%. The next largest groups are Black (17.5%) 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 Drew in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.1% (16,547 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Drew appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (73.1%), Black (17.5%), 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 Drew (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 Drew mean?
An English occupational surname referring to a hunter or a maker of nets for hunting. 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 Drew (7.58 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 Americans have the surname Drew?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.