Drake is used as a family name or surname in Ireland, England. It is 5 characters long in length.

Family Name / Last Name: Drake
No. of characters: 5
Origin: Ireland, England
Meaning:

Dweller at the sign of the dragon; one so nicknamed because of a dragon in his coat of arms; one with the qualities of a male duck; one who played the part of a dragon in the mysteries and miracle plays.

Not from the waterfowl, but from Anglo-Saxon, draca (Latin draco,) a dragon. Le Dragun, the Anglo-Norman form, occurs in the Hundred Rolls. Several families of Drake bear as arms the wyvern, or two-legged dragon; and it is worthy of remark that in giving to various pieces of cannon the names of monsters and animals of prey, that of drake' was assigned to a peculiar species of gun, as those of caliver, basilisk, culverin, fawconet, saker-all appellations of serpents and rapacious birds—were to others. The compounds, "fire-drake," and "hell-drake," become intelligible when the latter syllable is understood to mean, not the harmless and familiar denizen of the pool, but the 'fell dragoun' of medieval romance. Sir Thomas Smith, in his trea tise "De Republica Anglicana," speaking of his contemporary , the celebrated Eliza bethan admiral, Sir Francis Drake, (contrary to the generally received notion that he was born in Devonshire,) asserts that he was the son of a fisherman in the Isle of Wight, and that the name of Drake was not his family appellation but an assumption: "Draconis nomen ipse sibi sumpsit, quod est serpentum quoddam genus." He adds that the Dunkirkers fitted out a fine ship called the Dog, for the purpose of hunting and perhaps catching this sca-serpent: "Dunkercani insignem navem in struxerunt, Doggam (id est Canem) a se appellatam, innuentes eâ se Draconem hunc venaturos et forte capturos." Le Drac is an ancient form of the name.

How popular is Drake?

Drake is common in United States, England, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Cuba, Germany, Samoa, Wales, Nigeria, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Ireland, France, Argentina, Jamaica, Sweden, Iraq, Thailand.

Drake is ranked 5117 on our list.

Despite the fact that the number of Drake bearers increased by 3.57 per cent in 2010 US census to 61162 since 2000, the surname slipped by 43 spots and ranked at 549. The last name was found in around 2 per ten thousand population. Please refer to following table for race and ethnicity.

Race 2010 2000
White 79.55 81.84
Black 14.92 14.21
Hispanic or Latino 2.34 1.41
Others 2.04 1.49
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.62 0.64
Asian and Native Hawaiian
& Other Pacific Islander		 0.52 0.41
Drake is quite popular family name mostly used in United States while Saint Pierre and Miquelon is ahead in terms of density. Around 110629 people have been found who wears Drake as their family name. Drake is used widely across the globe. More detailed information can be found below:
RankCountryCount
Countries with ten thousands of Drake:
498 United States81,243
613 England12,392
Countries with thousands of Drake:
1,122 Canada4,792
960 Australia4,125
540 New Zealand1,296
6,250 South Africa1,102
Countries with hundreds of Drake:
1,134 Cuba681
21,480 Germany437
128 Samoa406
1,046 Wales325
27,054 Nigeria319
1,138 Northern Ireland293
2,229 Scotland285
14,774 Saudi Arabia278
14,218 Spain223
2,234 Ireland208
50,874 France197
19,438 Argentina179
1,511 Jamaica178
4,459 Sweden170
4,985 Iraq157
89,138 Thailand138
Countries with low frequency i.e., 50 - 100:
2,214 Panama91
106,837 Brazil55
14 Saint Pierre and Miquelon52
Countries with very low frequency i.e., 10 - 50:
8,706 Portugal47
10,457 Chile46
32,468 Malaysia43
12,676 Finland41
282,725 India41
22,993 Mexico41
42,990 Netherlands41
130,198 Philippines41
9,432 Dominican Republic39
17,004 Norway39
6,278 Singapore39
19,301 Switzerland36
22,492 Israel35
11,170 Latvia27
1,021 Malta24
57,482 Uganda24
6,287 Syria23
767 Guernsey22
4,510 Cyprus20
4,443 China17
27,097 Denmark14
19,471 Estonia12
42,199 Hungary12
11,768 Palestine12
3,581 Hong Kong11
22,440 Serbia11
Countries with very very low frequency i.e., 6 - 10:
80,937 Czechia10
434,432 Indonesia10
111,715 Italy10
5,469 Bahrain9
87,318 Belgium9
46,388 Japan9
21,487 Afghanistan8
922 Cayman Islands8
123,373 Cameroon7
2,948 Vietnam7
97,905 Zimbabwe7
1,961 American Samoa6
15,363 Ghana6
55,922 Qatar6
10,175 Trinidad and Tobago6
328,556 Ukraine6
2,503 United States Virgin Islands6
43,431 Venezuela6
18,907 Yemen6
Show Full Last Name Distribution

Immigrants to US

From Ireland

Carpenter James Drake from Great Britain aboard the Orleans from London during the Irish famine. He is registered to be 27 years old when he arrived in USA on October 22, 1848. Isabella Drake, aged 29, James Drake, aged Born at sea, Patk. Drake, aged 27, Workman John Drake, 22 years old William Drake, 20 years old Bridget Drake, Patk. Drake, aged 28, John Drake, aged 15, 22 years old Christopher Drake, Workwoman Ann Drake, and 63 other Drake around 73.17% of whom were workman while others worked as servant and farmer migrated to US from London, Cork, Liverpool and Belfast.

From Germany

Laborer Ed. Drake from Germany aboard the Saxonia from Hamburg & Southampton. He is registered to be 35 years old when he arrived in USA on April 20, 1858. 23 years old Christian Drake, Ludwig Drake (25) Tailor, Maria Drake, Anna Drake, Barbara Drake, aged 31, Hans Drake (Of unknown age), Alwine Drake, Wim.Aug. Drake (25) Farmer, 16 years old Christian Drake, and 9 other Drake around 38.46% of whom were laborer while others worked as tailor migrated to US.

Drake Namesakes

  • Joseph Rodman Drake, early American poet
  • Bill Drake, American radio programmer
  • Jay Drake, American auto racing driver
  • Friedrich Drake, German sculptor
  • Barbara Drake, member of the Fabian Society and trade unionist
  • Shane Drake, American music video director originally
  • Daniel Drake, pioneering American physician and prolific writer
  • Marino Drake, retired Cuban athlete competing in the high jump
  • Newman E. Drake, American entrepreneur and philanthropist
  • Theodore Drake, Canadian pediatrician and one of three doctors that developed Pablum
  • Alicia Drake, British fashion journalist and author
  • Dorcas Drake, American judge, justice of the peace
  • Judith Drake, English intellectual and author
  • Stillman Drake, Canadian historian of science best
  • Fred Drake, American musician best known as a founding member of earthlings?
  • James A. Drake, in March 2007
  • Monica Drake, American fiction writer known for her novels
  • Frank Drake, American astronomer and astrophysicist
  • St. Clair Drake, John Gibbs St
  • Francis Drake, English sea captain, privateer, slave trader
  • Nick Drake, English singer-songwriter and musician
  • Charlie Drake, English comedian, actor, writer and singer
  • Edwin Drake, American businessman and the first American to successfully drill for oil
  • Alfred Drake, American actor and singer
  • David Drake, American author of science fiction and fantasy literature
  • Thelma Drake, American politician and former member of Congress of the Republican party
  • Alfred George Drake, English recipient of the Victoria Cross
  • James Drake, Australian politician
  • Ted Drake, English football player and manager
  • Tom Drake, American actor
  • Gabrielle Drake, British actress
  • Bruce Drake, college men's basketball coach
  • Charles George Drake, Canadian neurosurgeon
  • Arnold Drake, American comic book writer and screenwriter best
  • Francis William Drake, officer of the Royal Navy
  • Stan Drake, American cartoonist best known as the founding artist of the comic strip 'The Heart of Juliet Jones'
  • Betsy Drake, French-born American actress and writer
  • Hamid Drake, American jazz drummer and percussionist
  • Dallas Drake, Canadian former professional ice hockey winger
  • Simon Drake, English magician based in London
  • Larry Drake, American actor, voice artist
  • Ervin Drake, American songwriter whose works include such American Songbook standards as "I Believe" and "It Was a Very Good Year"
  • Abraham Drake, officer
  • Steve Drake, pornographic actor and director
  • W. Raymond Drake, British disciple of Charles Fort and writer
  • Charles D. Drake, United States Senator from Missouri
  • Pete Drake, Nashville-based American record producer and pedal steel guitar player
  • Howard Drake, British former diplomat
  • Johnny Drake, American football player
  • Frances Drake, American actress
  • Francis M. Drake, American merchant, lawyer, banker and politician

Drake Namesakes

  • Joseph Rodman Drake, early American poet
  • Bill Drake, American radio programmer
  • Jay Drake, American auto racing driver
  • Friedrich Drake, German sculptor
  • Barbara Drake, member of the Fabian Society and trade unionist
  • Shane Drake, American music video director originally
  • Daniel Drake, pioneering American physician and prolific writer
  • Marino Drake, retired Cuban athlete competing in the high jump
  • Newman E. Drake, American entrepreneur and philanthropist
  • Theodore Drake, Canadian pediatrician and one of three doctors that developed Pablum
  • Alicia Drake, British fashion journalist and author
  • Dorcas Drake, American judge, justice of the peace
  • Judith Drake, English intellectual and author
  • Stillman Drake, Canadian historian of science best
  • Fred Drake, American musician best known as a founding member of earthlings?
  • James A. Drake, in March 2007
  • Monica Drake, American fiction writer known for her novels
  • Frank Drake, American astronomer and astrophysicist
  • St. Clair Drake, John Gibbs St
  • Francis Drake, English sea captain, privateer, slave trader
  • Nick Drake, English singer-songwriter and musician
  • Charlie Drake, English comedian, actor, writer and singer
  • Edwin Drake, American businessman and the first American to successfully drill for oil
  • Alfred Drake, American actor and singer
  • David Drake, American author of science fiction and fantasy literature
  • Thelma Drake, American politician and former member of Congress of the Republican party
  • Alfred George Drake, English recipient of the Victoria Cross
  • James Drake, Australian politician
  • Ted Drake, English football player and manager
  • Tom Drake, American actor
  • Gabrielle Drake, British actress
  • Bruce Drake, college men's basketball coach
  • Charles George Drake, Canadian neurosurgeon
  • Arnold Drake, American comic book writer and screenwriter best
  • Francis William Drake, officer of the Royal Navy
  • Stan Drake, American cartoonist best known as the founding artist of the comic strip 'The Heart of Juliet Jones'
  • Betsy Drake, French-born American actress and writer
  • Hamid Drake, American jazz drummer and percussionist
  • Dallas Drake, Canadian former professional ice hockey winger
  • Simon Drake, English magician based in London
  • Larry Drake, American actor, voice artist
  • Ervin Drake, American songwriter whose works include such American Songbook standards as "I Believe" and "It Was a Very Good Year"
  • Abraham Drake, officer
  • Steve Drake, pornographic actor and director
  • W. Raymond Drake, British disciple of Charles Fort and writer
  • Charles D. Drake, United States Senator from Missouri
  • Pete Drake, Nashville-based American record producer and pedal steel guitar player
  • Howard Drake, British former diplomat
  • Johnny Drake, American football player
  • Frances Drake, American actress
  • Francis M. Drake, American merchant, lawyer, banker and politician

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