2000
#94,227
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 180
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.07
Very Rare Last name
Drobish
A surname of Slavic origin likely meaning "tiny" or "small".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 200 Americans carry the last name Drobish. That puts it at #108,494 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.06 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,713,772 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Drobish 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
200
1 in 1,713,772
Census rank
#108,494
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
174
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 174 bearers of the surname Drobish in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.06 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 108494th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Drobish, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.2%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Drobish
The surname Drobish has its origins in Germany, with records dating back to the 16th century. The name is derived from the old German word "drobisch," which means "turbulent" or "unruly." This suggests that the name may have been given as a descriptive surname to someone with a boisterous or unruly personality.
The earliest recorded instance of the name Drobish can be found in the town of Freiberg, Saxony, where a man named Hans Drobisch was mentioned in a church register in 1574. The name appears to have been concentrated in the regions of Saxony and Thuringia during this period, with variations in spelling such as Drobisch, Drobitzsch, and Drobitzsche.
One notable figure bearing the Drobish name was Wilhelm Drobisch, a German mathematician and philosopher who lived from 1802 to 1896. He made significant contributions to the fields of logic and psychology and served as a professor at the University of Leipzig for over 50 years.
Another individual of historical importance was Johann Drobisch, a 17th-century German composer and organist. Born in 1609 in Bunzlau, Silesia (now Bolesławiec, Poland), he is known for his sacred vocal works and organ compositions, many of which were published during his lifetime.
In the 19th century, a man named Friedrich Drobisch gained recognition as a renowned Saxon writer and poet. Born in 1821 in Chemnitz, Saxony, he published several collections of poems and prose works that captured the essence of rural life in his native region.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Drobish name in the United States can be traced back to Johann Drobish, who immigrated from Saxony to Pennsylvania in the mid-18th century. His descendants can be found throughout the northeastern United States, particularly in states like Pennsylvania and New York.
Another notable figure was Carl Drobisch, a German-American artist and painter who lived from 1856 to 1932. Born in Dresden, Saxony, he immigrated to the United States in the late 19th century and became known for his landscapes and portraiture, with many of his works depicting scenes from the American West.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Drobish
Among Census respondents with the surname Drobish, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.2%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Drobish 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 Drobish surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.9% · 153
- Two or more races5.2% · 9
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.9% · 5
- Black or African American1.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Drobish
Drobish 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
#99,845
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 181
+1 bearers (+0.6%)
Per 100,000 0.06
Rank movement Down 5,618 places
2020
#108,494
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 174
-7 bearers (-3.9%)
Per 100,000 0.06
Rank movement Down 8,649 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #94,227 | 180 | 0.07 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #99,845 | 181 | 0.06 | +1 bearers (+0.6%) | Down 5,618 places |
| 2020 | #108,494 | 174 | 0.06 | -7 bearers (-3.9%) | Down 8,649 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 Drobish 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 | #99,845 | #108,494 | -8.7% |
| Count | 181 | 174 | -3.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.06 | 0.06 | -3.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Drobish bearers went from 181 to 174 (-3.9% change). The surname moved down 8,649 positions in the national ranking, going from #99,845 to #108,494.
FAQ
Drobish surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Drobish?
Name Census estimates that about 200 living Americans carry the surname Drobish. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,713,772 residents.
How common is Drobish?
Drobish ranks #108,494 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.06 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 174 people with the surname Drobish. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (200), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.06 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.06 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 Drobish.
Has Drobish become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Drobish went from 181 recorded bearers to 174. That is a decrease of 7 (-3.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #99,845 to #108,494.
What does the Census say about the background of Drobish?
Among Census respondents with the surname Drobish, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.2%) and Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Drobish in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.9% (153 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Drobish appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.9%), Two or More Races (5.2%), Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Drobish (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 Drobish mean?
A surname of Slavic origin likely meaning "tiny" or "small". 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 Drobish (0.06 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 have the last name Drobish?
If you just want to know how many people are called Drobish, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.