2000
#9,690
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,076
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.14
Rare Last name
Drown
Derived from a place name or a nickname for someone who lived near a drainage ditch or channel.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,866 Americans carry the last name Drown. That puts it at #9,265 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.13 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 88,659 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Drown 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Drown with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.9K
1 in 88,659
Census rank
#9,265
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,371 bearers of the surname Drown in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.13 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9265th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Drown, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.4%. The next largest groups are Black (12.9%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Drown
The surname Drown is of English origin, emerging in the medieval period around the 13th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old English word "dran," which means "to drain" or "to draw off water." This suggests that the name may have been an occupational surname for those involved in draining marshes, digging ditches, or working with water management systems.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Drown can be found in various tax rolls and parish records from Norfolk, Suffolk, and Essex counties in England. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Roger Drown, who was mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls of Norfolk in 1332.
In the 14th century, the name appeared in various forms, such as "Dran," "Drayn," and "Drayne," reflecting the regional pronunciation and spelling variations of the time. The Drown spelling became more standardized in the 15th and 16th centuries.
The Drown surname is also associated with several place names in England, such as Drown Barn in Cambridgeshire, Drown Farm in Oxfordshire, and Drownmoor in Somerset. These place names likely originated from the occupation or location of early Drown families.
Notable individuals with the surname Drown throughout history include:
1. John Drown (c. 1590-1668), an early settler in Rhode Island, United States, who arrived from England in the 1630s.
2. William Drown (1635-1686), a Quaker leader and landowner in Rhode Island, son of John Drown.
3. Samuel Drown (1772-1846), an American merchant and philanthropist from Boston, Massachusetts.
4. John Drown (1801-1876), an American architect and builder from Providence, Rhode Island, known for designing several notable buildings in the city.
5. Thomas Messenger Drown (1842-1904), an American painter and sculptor from Vermont, known for his works depicting Native American subjects.
While the Drown surname may not be as widely recognized as some others, it has a rich history spanning several centuries, with its origins rooted in the occupational and geographical landscapes of medieval England.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Drown
Among Census respondents with the surname Drown, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.4%. The next largest groups are Black (12.9%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Drown 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 Drown surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.4% · 2,710
- Black or African American12.9% · 435
- Two or more races3.0% · 101
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 97
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 12
Timeline
Historical Census data for Drown
Drown 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
#7,684
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,321
+1,245 bearers (+40.5%)
Per 100,000 1.46
Rank movement Up 2,006 places
2020
#9,265
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,371
-950 bearers (-22.0%)
Per 100,000 1.13
Rank movement Down 1,581 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,690 | 3,076 | 1.14 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,684 | 4,321 | 1.46 | +1,245 bearers (+40.5%) | Up 2,006 places |
| 2020 | #9,265 | 3,371 | 1.13 | -950 bearers (-22.0%) | Down 1,581 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 Drown 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 | #7,684 | #9,265 | -20.6% |
| Count | 4,321 | 3,371 | -22.0% |
| Per 100K | 1.46 | 1.13 | -22.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Drown bearers went from 4,321 to 3,371 (-22.0% change). The surname moved down 1,581 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,684 to #9,265.
FAQ
Drown surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Drown?
Name Census estimates that about 3,866 living Americans carry the surname Drown. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 88,659 residents.
How common is Drown?
Drown ranks #9,265 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.13 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,371 people with the surname Drown. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,866), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.13 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.13 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Drown.
Has Drown become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Drown went from 4,321 recorded bearers to 3,371. That is a decrease of 950 (-22.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,684 to #9,265.
What does the Census say about the background of Drown?
Among Census respondents with the surname Drown, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.4%. The next largest groups are Black (12.9%) and Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Drown in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.4% (2,710 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Drown appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.4%), Black (12.9%), Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Drown (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 Drown mean?
Derived from a place name or a nickname for someone who lived near a drainage ditch or channel. 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 Drown (1.13 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 Drown?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.