2010
#157,234
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.03
Very Rare Last name
Drooger
A Dutch surname derived from the occupation of drying or desiccating materials.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 117 Americans carry the last name Drooger. That puts it at #154,755 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,929,524 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Drooger 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
117
1 in 2,929,524
Census rank
#154,755
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
102
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 102 bearers of the surname Drooger in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154755th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Drooger, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Drooger
The surname DROOGER has its origins in the Netherlands, dating back to the 16th century. It is derived from the Dutch word "drooger," which means "drier" or "one who dries." This suggests that the name was initially associated with an occupation or trade related to drying activities, such as drying crops, fabrics, or other materials.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, many Dutch surnames emerged from occupational titles or descriptions of a person's trade or profession. The DROOGER surname was likely adopted by individuals or families involved in the drying process, either in agricultural settings or in the textile industry, which was significant in the Netherlands at that time.
Some of the earliest recorded instances of the DROOGER surname can be found in Dutch church records and municipal archives from the 1500s and 1600s. These records often mention individuals with variations of the spelling, such as Droger, Droogher, or Droogere, reflecting the linguistic evolution of the name over time.
One notable historical figure bearing the DROOGER surname was Pieter Drooger (1670-1746), a Dutch merchant and ship owner from Amsterdam. He played a significant role in the Dutch East India Company's trade with the East Indies and was known for his successful business ventures.
Another individual of note was Jan Drooger (1802-1878), a Dutch politician and lawyer who served as a member of the Dutch Parliament (Tweede Kamer) in the mid-19th century, representing the city of Rotterdam.
In the realm of art, Willem Drooger (1856-1933) was a renowned Dutch painter and etcher known for his landscapes and cityscapes depicting scenes from the Netherlands.
Johannes Drooger (1901-1976), born in Amsterdam, was a celebrated Dutch architect who designed several notable buildings and structures in the Netherlands, including the Amsterdam Orphanage and the Apostolic Church in The Hague.
Moving into more recent times, Kees Drooger (1927-2005) was a Dutch football player who played as a forward for Ajax Amsterdam and the Netherlands national team in the 1950s and 1960s, earning 33 caps for his country.
These examples illustrate the widespread distribution and historical significance of the DROOGER surname across various fields and professions within the Netherlands and among the Dutch diaspora.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Drooger
Among Census respondents with the surname Drooger, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Drooger 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 Drooger surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.1% · 95
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 3
- Two or more races2.9% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Drooger
Drooger appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#154,755
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
-1 bearers (-1.0%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Up 2,479 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #157,234 | 103 | 0.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #154,755 | 102 | 0.03 | -1 bearers (-1.0%) | Up 2,479 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 Drooger 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 | #157,234 | #154,755 | 1.6% |
| Count | 103 | 102 | -1.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.03 | 13.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Drooger bearers went from 103 to 102 (-1.0% change). The surname moved up 2,479 positions in the national ranking, going from #157,234 to #154,755.
FAQ
Drooger surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Drooger?
Name Census estimates that about 117 living Americans carry the surname Drooger. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,929,524 residents.
How common is Drooger?
Drooger ranks #154,755 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 102 people with the surname Drooger. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (117), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Drooger.
Has Drooger become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Drooger went from 103 recorded bearers to 102. That is a decrease of 1 (-1.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #157,234 to #154,755.
What does the Census say about the background of Drooger?
Among Census respondents with the surname Drooger, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (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 Drooger in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.1% (95 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Drooger appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.1%), Hispanic (2.9%), Two or More Races (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 Drooger (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 Drooger mean?
A Dutch surname derived from the occupation of drying or desiccating materials. 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 Drooger (0.03 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 surname Drooger?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.