2000
#134,929
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Droppa
A surname originating from a European dialect word meaning "drop" or "droplet".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 126 Americans carry the last name Droppa. That puts it at #149,446 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,720,273 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Droppa 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
126
1 in 2,720,273
Census rank
#149,446
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
110
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 110 bearers of the surname Droppa in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 149446th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Droppa, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Droppa
The surname DROPPA has its origins in northern Germany, particularly in the region of Lower Saxony. It dates back to the 13th century and is believed to be derived from the Low German word "droppen," which means "to drop" or "to drip." This suggests that the name may have been an occupational surname for someone who worked with liquids, such as a brewer or a distiller.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Bremisches Urkundenbuch, a collection of historical documents from the city of Bremen, where a person named Hinrich Droppa is mentioned in a document dated 1283. The name also appears in the Lübecker Tresslerbücher, a series of account books from the city of Lübeck, where a merchant named Clawes Droppa is listed in the year 1467.
In the 16th century, the name appears in the town records of Stade, a small town in the present-day state of Lower Saxony. One notable individual from this period is Hans Droppa, a wealthy merchant who served as a town councilor in Stade in the late 1500s.
As the name spread across northern Germany and into neighboring regions, it underwent various spelling variations, such as Droppe, Droppke, and Droppken. One of the earliest recorded instances of the spelling "Droppa" can be found in the parish records of the town of Bremervörde, where a man named Jürgen Droppa was baptized in 1612.
In the 18th century, the name DROPPA can be found in the records of the city of Hamburg. One notable individual from this period is Johann Hinrich Droppa, a merchant and shipowner who lived from 1725 to 1792. He was a prominent figure in the city's trade with the West Indies and played a significant role in the development of Hamburg's maritime industry.
Another notable figure with the surname DROPPA is Friedrich Wilhelm Droppa, a German theologian and educator who lived from 1794 to 1863. He served as the director of the Königliche Realschule (Royal High School) in Potsdam and was known for his contributions to the field of education.
In the 19th century, the DROPPA name can be found in various parts of Germany, including the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Schleswig-Holstein, and Brandenburg. One individual of note from this period is Carl Gustav Droppa, a lawyer and politician who was born in 1837 in the town of Plau am See in Mecklenburg. He served as a member of the Prussian House of Representatives and played an active role in the political debates of his time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Droppa
Among Census respondents with the surname Droppa, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Droppa 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 Droppa surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.1% · 98
- Two or more races6.4% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.7% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Droppa
Droppa 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
#136,449
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 123
+8 bearers (+7.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 1,520 places
2020
#149,446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
-13 bearers (-10.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 12,997 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #134,929 | 115 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #136,449 | 123 | 0.04 | +8 bearers (+7.0%) | Down 1,520 places |
| 2020 | #149,446 | 110 | 0.04 | -13 bearers (-10.6%) | Down 12,997 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 Droppa 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 | #136,449 | #149,446 | -9.5% |
| Count | 123 | 110 | -10.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Droppa bearers went from 123 to 110 (-10.6% change). The surname moved down 12,997 positions in the national ranking, going from #136,449 to #149,446.
FAQ
Droppa surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Droppa?
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the surname Droppa. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,720,273 residents.
How common is Droppa?
Droppa ranks #149,446 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 110 people with the surname Droppa. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (126), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Droppa.
Has Droppa become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Droppa went from 123 recorded bearers to 110. That is a decrease of 13 (-10.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #136,449 to #149,446.
What does the Census say about the background of Droppa?
Among Census respondents with the surname Droppa, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.7%). 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 Droppa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.1% (98 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Droppa appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.1%), Two or More Races (6.4%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.7%). 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 Droppa (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 Droppa mean?
A surname originating from a European dialect word meaning "drop" or "droplet". 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 Droppa (0.04 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 Droppa?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.