Find out how popular the last name Dryden is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Dryden.

Dryden, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Dryden surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Dryden in America

Dryden is the 6339th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Dryden surname appeared 5,378 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Dryden.

We can also compare 2010 data for Dryden to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Dryden

The surname Dryden has its origins in England, where it first appeared in the early 12th century. It is derived from the Old English words "dryge" meaning dry and "dene" meaning valley or hollow, suggesting that the name originated from a dry valley or hollow area.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Dryden can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Northamptonshire from 1195, which mention a William de Drugedene. The surname also appears in the Hundred Rolls of 1273, where it is spelled as Driggedene.

The Dryden family was originally from the village of Dryden in Northamptonshire, which was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Drigedene. This place name likely gave rise to the surname, as it was common practice for people to adopt surnames based on the location they were from.

In the 14th century, the Dryden family established themselves in the village of Canons Ashby in Northamptonshire. Sir Erasmus Dryden (1553-1632) was a prominent member of the family during this time and served as a Baronet.

One of the most famous individuals with the surname Dryden was the English poet, literary critic, and playwright John Dryden (1631-1700). He was born in Aldwinkle, Northamptonshire, and is considered one of the greatest English poets of the 17th century, known for works such as "Absalom and Achitophel" and "The Hind and the Panther."

Another notable Dryden was Sir Henry Dryden (1818-1899), a British civil servant and diplomat who served as Governor of British Honduras (now Belize) from 1857 to 1863.

Charles Dryden (1617-1701) was an English Member of Parliament who represented the constituency of Northamptonshire in the 17th century.

Jonathan Dryden (1815-1888) was a British civil engineer who worked on various railway projects in England and India during the 19th century.

Elizabeth Dryden (1687-1758) was an English painter and one of the first female artists to gain recognition in Britain during the 18th century.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Dryden

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Dryden.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Dryden was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Dryden has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Dryden was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Dryden, please contact us.

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