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

Drewes, 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 Drewes surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Drewes in America

Drewes is the 18378th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Drewes surname appeared 1,507 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 Drewes.

We can also compare 2010 data for Drewes 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 Drewes

The surname Drewes is believed to have originated in Germany, where it first emerged in the medieval period. It is thought to be derived from the Old German word "drewen," which means "to turn or twist." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to an occupation, perhaps a turner or spinner of wood or textiles.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Drewes can be found in the historical records of the city of Lübeck, Germany, where a merchant named Johann Drewes is mentioned in the 14th century. Another early reference is from the town of Celle in Lower Saxony, where a man named Henning Drewes was documented in the late 15th century.

In the 16th century, the Drewes name appears in various German records, including those of Pomerania and Brandenburg. During this time, the spelling of the name varied, with forms such as Drewitz, Dreweß, and Drewitz being used interchangeably.

As the Drewes family spread across Germany and into neighboring regions, some members became associated with specific places, leading to the formation of locational surnames. For instance, in the 17th century, there was a family known as the Drewes von Drewitz, indicating their connection to the town of Drewitz in Brandenburg.

Notable individuals with the Drewes surname throughout history include Nicolaus Drewes (1540-1617), a German Protestant theologian and reformer, and Johann Samuel Drewes (1785-1861), a German architect and urban planner who designed several buildings in the city of Hanover. In the 19th century, Carl Drewes (1823-1895) was a German-American businessman and politician who served as the Mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Other prominent figures include Hans Drewes (1888-1938), a German naval officer and World War I submarine commander, and Erwin Drewes (1892-1964), a German architect and urban planner who worked extensively in Berlin during the early 20th century.

While the Drewes surname has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of the world, particularly through migration and the descendants of German emigrants. However, its origins can be traced back to the medieval period and the occupational or descriptive meaning of the Old German word "drewen."

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Drewes

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

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

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

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