Drier last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Drier

A German occupational surname for someone who worked as a farm hand or field laborer.

Drier, 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 Drier surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Drier in America

Drier is the 38050th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Drier surname appeared 583 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Drier.

We can also compare 2010 data for Drier 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 38050 33206 13.60%
Count 583 649 -10.71%
Proportion per 100k 0.20 0.24 -18.18%

The history of the last name Drier

The surname DRIER is believed to have originated in England and Scotland during the medieval period. It is derived from the Old English word "drior," which means "one who dries." This occupation-based surname was likely given to individuals who worked as dryers of cloth, leather, or other materials.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name DRIER can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from the year 1205, which mention a person named Robert le Drier. Similar spellings, such as "Dryer" and "Driere," were also used in various historical documents from the 13th and 14th centuries.

In the 16th century, the surname DRIER appeared in the records of the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland, where a person named John Drier was mentioned in 1549. This suggests that the name had spread to Scotland by that time.

Interestingly, the name DRIER is also associated with certain place names in England, such as Drier's Green in Hertfordshire and Drier's Close in Nottinghamshire. These place names may have derived from individuals bearing the surname DRIER who lived or worked in those areas.

Notable individuals with the surname DRIER include:

  1. William Drier (1580-1647), an English clergyman and writer who served as the Archdeacon of Lewes.
  2. Thomas Drier (1638-1712), a Scottish mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the study of celestial mechanics.
  3. Mary Drier (1695-1768), an English diarist and author whose personal journals provide valuable insights into the social and cultural life of the 18th century.
  4. Robert Drier (1753-1821), a Scottish merchant and philanthropist known for his support of educational institutions and charitable causes.
  5. Elizabeth Drier (1827-1892), an English novelist and poet whose works explored themes of love, loss, and the human condition.

While the surname DRIER may have evolved over time and taken on different spellings, it remains a testament to the historical occupations and cultural traditions of England and Scotland.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Drier

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

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 Drier was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 93.31% 544
Non-Hispanic Black Only 1.72% 10
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.86% 5
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.20% 7
Hispanic Origin 2.92% 17

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 Drier has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 93.31% 95.22% -2.03%
Black 1.72% 1.54% 11.04%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.86% 0.77% 11.04%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races 1.20% (S)% (S)%
Hispanic 2.92% 2.00% 37.40%

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

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

Reference this page

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If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Drier last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on July 18, 2025. http://namecensus.com/last-names/drier-surname-popularity/.

"Drier last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/drier-surname-popularity/. Accessed 18 July, 2025

Drier last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/drier-surname-popularity/.

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