2000
#4,510
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,243
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.68
Rare Last name
Driggers
Anglicized form of a German surname meaning "trigger" or "trestle," likely referring to an ancestor's occupation or physical characteristics.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,036 Americans carry the last name Driggers. That puts it at #4,882 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.34 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 42,652 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Driggers 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
8.0K
1 in 42,652
Census rank
#4,882
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,008 bearers of the surname Driggers in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.34 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4882nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Driggers, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.6%) and Hispanic (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Driggers
The surname Driggers is thought to have originated in England during the medieval era. It is believed to derive from the Old English word "drycrafte," which refers to the practice of magic or sorcery. This suggests that the earliest bearers of this name may have been individuals associated with occult practices or those who had reputations as cunning folk or folk healers.
One of the earliest known references to the Driggers surname can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from the year 1230, where a certain Johannes Drigger is mentioned. These rolls were financial records maintained by the English Exchequer, indicating that the name was already in use by that time.
In the 14th century, the surname appeared in various forms, including Drigger, Drygger, and Drygour, reflecting the variations in spelling common during that period. One notable bearer of the name was William Drygour, who was mentioned in the Patent Rolls of King Edward III in 1348.
The Driggers surname later spread to other parts of Britain, including Scotland and Wales. In Scotland, the name was sometimes spelled as Driggers or Driggers, while in Wales, it took the form of Drigors or Drigwrs.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, several individuals with the Driggers surname gained prominence. One such person was John Driggers, a merchant from London who was active in the early 1600s. Another notable figure was Robert Driggers, a Scottish clergyman born in 1620, who served as the minister of Kilmarnock Parish.
As the British Empire expanded, the Driggers surname also found its way to various colonies and territories. In the 18th century, a family by the name of Driggers settled in the American colonies, with records indicating their presence in Virginia and the Carolinas.
One of the earliest known Driggers in America was James Driggers, born in 1732 in Virginia. He later migrated to South Carolina, where he became a prominent landowner and farmer. Another notable American bearer of the surname was Samuel Driggers (1790-1868), a lawyer and politician from North Carolina who served as a state senator.
Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, the Driggers surname continued to be found across various regions of the United States, with concentrations in the Southern states. Some of the notable individuals with this surname during this period include William Driggers (1830-1908), a Confederate soldier from South Carolina, and John Driggers (1858-1925), a businessman and landowner from Georgia.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Driggers
Among Census respondents with the surname Driggers, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.6%) and Hispanic (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Driggers 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 Driggers surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.5% · 6,204
- Two or more races4.6% · 319
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 222
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.6% · 115
- Black or African American1.6% · 111
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 37
Timeline
Historical Census data for Driggers
Driggers 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
#4,648
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,641
+398 bearers (+5.5%)
Per 100,000 2.59
Rank movement Down 138 places
2020
#4,882
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,008
-633 bearers (-8.3%)
Per 100,000 2.34
Rank movement Down 234 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,510 | 7,243 | 2.68 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,648 | 7,641 | 2.59 | +398 bearers (+5.5%) | Down 138 places |
| 2020 | #4,882 | 7,008 | 2.34 | -633 bearers (-8.3%) | Down 234 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 Driggers 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 | #4,648 | #4,882 | -5.0% |
| Count | 7,641 | 7,008 | -8.3% |
| Per 100K | 2.59 | 2.34 | -9.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Driggers bearers went from 7,641 to 7,008 (-8.3% change). The surname moved down 234 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,648 to #4,882.
FAQ
Driggers surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Driggers?
Name Census estimates that about 8,036 living Americans carry the surname Driggers. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 42,652 residents.
How common is Driggers?
Driggers ranks #4,882 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.34 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 7,008 people with the surname Driggers. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,036), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.34 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.34 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Driggers.
Has Driggers become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Driggers went from 7,641 recorded bearers to 7,008. That is a decrease of 633 (-8.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,648 to #4,882.
What does the Census say about the background of Driggers?
Among Census respondents with the surname Driggers, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.6%) and Hispanic (3.2%). 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 Driggers in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.5% (6,204 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Driggers appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.5%), Two or More Races (4.6%), Hispanic (3.2%). 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 Driggers (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 Driggers mean?
Anglicized form of a German surname meaning "trigger" or "trestle," likely referring to an ancestor's occupation or physical characteristics. 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 Driggers (2.34 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 Driggers?
See how many people have the last name Driggers on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.