The Drake surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 61,162 people carried this name — #549 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 4,820 people counted. That is up 4% from 59,055 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Drake surname
An English surname transferred from the nickname, originally a byname from Old English draca or Old Norse draki, both meaning “dragon”.
As an English surname, from both senses of the noun drake meaning "male duck" and "dragon."
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Drake» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890
Ireland registered 6 births for the Drake name in 1890.
Most were registered in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 300 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “Down and Monaghan.”
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born, 1890
Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 150 people named Drake live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
40 people named Drake live in Switzerland.
They live in 6 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Geneva.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 20 people named Drake.
9 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 3 départements, most often Moselle.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In the Nordic population registers
263 people named Drake are counted in Sweden and Finland.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown) · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s
Drake was found among the farmers of 4 counties.
It was most frequent in Dorset: 40 in every 10,000 farmers there — about 1 in 250. Guppy counted the farmers listed in each county’s directory and recorded a name only where it reached about 7 in every 10,000; where it does not appear, it was rarer than that, not absent.
Where it concentrates, on the mapPer 10,000 farmers, by county
H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), alphabetical list of English and Welsh names — public domain · farmers in Kelly’s Post Office Directories of the 1880s, per 10,000 farmers in each county.
In Scotland’s registers today
Drake was recorded 10 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.
That made it the 1929th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.
National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
In the first U.S. census, 1790
271 families named Drake, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.
Each family is counted by its head. About 1,468 people lived in those households, 5.4 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 3 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.
Families, by state
U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 238 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.
In print
Drake in American newspapers,
1884–1924.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 13,412 pages in all carry the name.
In print
Drake in Australian newspapers,
1810s–1990s.
90,379 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Drake. The most, 19,258, date from the 1900s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Queensland, at 1.7 times its expected share.
Articles, by state
Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Drake.
Who carried it
People named Drake,
with a public archive behind them.
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Hans Arvidsson Drake d. 1653 · military personnel -
Olaus Petri Drake d. 1658 · politician
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colonel Johannes Kristiernson Drake, 1.Lord of Hamra & Torp d. 1677 · military personnel
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Francis Drake d. 1795
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John Drake d. 1401
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Charlotte Elizabeth Drake d. 1817
Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
In the public record
People named Drake,
in the records of 8 countries.
Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.
United States5,366 records
- U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 2,129
- U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 988
- Other U.S. records 2,249
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Example: U.S. registration card, 1942 Military record Kenneth F. DrakeBorn 1912 in New York. Enlisted 1942 at Fort Jay Governors Island; laundry worker from New York County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1989, buried at Calverton National Cemetery, New York.
U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) -
Example: U.S. war memorial War record John M. DrakeBorn 1934; from San Francisco, California. U.S. Marine Corps; killed in action 1953 in Korea. Buried at Golden Gate National Cemetery, California.
U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) -
Example: passenger manifest, 1903 Passenger record John DrakeArrived at New York in 1886 aboard the City of Chester from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 19; laborer. From Limeriak, Prussia, Germany; bound for New York.
U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
Showing 3 of 5,366 records for Drake in the United States.
Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).
Australia1,857 records
- Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 917
- Tasmanian Names Index 515
- Other Australian records 425
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Example: probate petition, 1848 Probate record Francis Samuel DrakeDied 1877 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 35. Will registered in Tasmania in 1877.
Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) -
Example: marriage register, 1911 Marriage record Lucy Emma Oldaker DrakeBorn 1862 in Port Sorell, Tasmania. Married 1891 in Port Frederick, Tasmania, aged 28.
Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) -
Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829 Transportation record Mary Anne DrakeTransported to New South Wales aboard the Canada, arriving 1810; ticket of leave 1811.
Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
Showing 3 of 1,857 records for Drake in Australia.
Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain).
Canada405 records
- Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 273
- Canadian Virtual War Memorial 35
- Other Canadian records 97
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Example: German emigration file, 1883 Emigration record Thomas DrakeLeft New York in 1783 aboard the L'Abondance, bound for Port Mattoon, aged 17.
Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. -
Example: passenger manifest, 1903 Passenger record James DrakeCame to Ontario in 1878 aboard the Sardinian, bound for Chatham, Ontario; English.
Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. -
Example: Canadian cemetery Burial record Alfred Cripps DrakeBuried in 1955 at Mount Hermon Cemetery, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, aged 87.
Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax.
Showing 3 of 405 records for Drake in Canada.
Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Emigration file, Gündlingen, 1883, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg B 694/1 Nr. 1389 (CC BY 4.0); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).
United Kingdom67 records
- War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 49
- St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 15
- Other British records 3
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Example: burial register, 1858 Burial record Rebecca DrakeBuried in 1913 at Ballengeich Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland, aged 78.
Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. -
Example: burial register, 1858 Burial record William DrakeBuried in 1855 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 44.
MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. -
Example: probate petition, 1848 Probate record John William DrakeWill proved in 1935; of Briton Ferry.
National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)
Showing 3 of 67 records for Drake in the United Kingdom.
Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).
New Zealand46 records
- Christchurch City cemetery records 34
- Marlborough District cemetery records 8
- Other New Zealand records 4
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Example: burial register, 1858 Burial record Catherine DrakeDied 1894, aged 54; buried at Linwood Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.
Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) -
Example: burial register, 1858 Burial record John Maurice DrakeDied 1992, aged 87; buried at Tuamarina Cemetery, Marlborough.
Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0) -
Example: burial register, 1858 Burial record Alyn Edwin DrakeDied 1999; buried at Rangiora Lawn Cemetery, Canterbury.
Waimakariri District Council (CC BY 4.0)
Showing 3 of 46 records for Drake in New Zealand.
Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Waimakariri District Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).
Germany43 records
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Example: German casualty list, 1918 Casualty list Johann DrakeFrom Buer. Reported taken prisoner in the Prussian casualty list of 2 December 1916 (Infantry Regiment No. 346).
Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0) -
Example: German casualty list, 1918 Casualty list Johann Dietrich DrakeFrom Niederbecksen, Minden. Reported wounded in the Prussian casualty list of 4 June 1918.
Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)
Showing 2 of 43 records for Drake in Germany.
Counts: Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Deutsche Verlustlisten, Prussian list 1116, 18 April 1918 (scan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0).
Netherlands12 records
- Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 6
- Dutch population registers 3
- Dutch church registers before 1811 3
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Example: marriage register, 1911 Marriage record Frances Lowner DrakeMarried in 1948 in Leeuwarden; "kokkin".
Open Archives, AlleFriezen (CC BY 4.0) -
Example: marriage register, 1911 Marriage record Karl Ludwig Georg DrakeMarried in 1933 in Haarlem; "correspondent".
Open Archives, Noord-Hollands Archief (CC BY 4.0)
Showing 2 of 12 records for Drake in the Netherlands.
Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).
France7 records
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Example: French death register, 1930 Death record Pierre DrakeBorn 1909 in Forbach; died 1984 in Metz (Moselle).
Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte) -
Example: French death register, 1930 Death record Andree Louise Georgette DrakeBorn 1899 in Paris; died 1982 in Montmorency (Val-d'Oise).
Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
Showing 2 of 7 records for Drake in France.
Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Drake.
- Drach 394 · U.S. census
- Draghi 334 · U.S. census
- Drago 3,275 · U.S. census
- Dragon 2,475 · U.S. census
- Dragone 766 · U.S. census
- Drain 3,859 · U.S. census
- Drame 342 · U.S. census
- Dran 133 · U.S. census
- Drane 2,706 · U.S. census
- Drape 147 · U.S. census
- Drapeau 1,408 · U.S. census
- Draper 24,337 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Drake is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.