The Dryden surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 5,378 people carried this name — #6,339 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 54,900 people counted. That is up 3% from 5,209 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Dryden surname

An English and Scottish habitational surname from Old English.

From Old English drȳġe (“dry”) + denu (“valley”).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Dryden» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Dryden was found among the farmers of 2 counties.

It was most frequent in Northumberland: 30 in every 10,000 farmers there — about 1 in 333. 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 map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

Northumberland 30
Durham 28

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

Dryden was recorded 17 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 1299th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 26. 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 print

Dryden in American newspapers,
1899–1920.

Newspaper page from The Leavenworth Echo carrying the name Dryden
The Leavenworth Echo 1920-04-30
Newspaper page from The Anaconda Standard carrying the name Dryden
The Anaconda Standard 1899-07-03

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 73,142 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Dryden in Australian newspapers,
1820s–1990s.

10,713 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Dryden. The most, 2,169, date from the 1900s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in Tasmania, at 3.0 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 3,805
Victoria 2,188
Tasmania 2,151
Queensland 1,488
South Australia 526
Western Australia 473
ACT (Canberra) 66
Northern Territory 6

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Dryden.

Who carried it

People named Dryden,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Julia Honora Dryden d. 1889
  • Sir Robert Dryden, 3rd Bt. d. 1708
  • Mary Josephine Swinburne Waller d. 1916
  • Louisa Isabella Dryden d. 1948
  • Kate Mary Gibb d. 1923
  • Gladys Ethel Florence Dryden d. 1995

Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Dryden,
in the records of 7 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 States495 records

495 records of the Dryden name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 184
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 86
  • Other U.S. records 225
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record John J. Dryden

    Born 1901 in Missouri. Enlisted 1942 at Jefferson Barracks; watchman from Greene County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1975, buried at Springfield National Cemetery, Missouri.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Ralph Marion Dryden

    Born 1933; from Kailua, Hawaii. U.S. Marine Corps, pilot ch-53 a/d qualified; died in an accident 1968 in Quang Nam, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Mary Dryden

    Arrived at New York in 1872 aboard the Abyssinia from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 21; servant. From England.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 495 records for Dryden 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) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0). 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).

Australia517 records

517 records of the Dryden name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 253
  • Tasmanian Names Index 110
  • Other Australian records 154
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Edward Dryden

    Died 1849 in Longford, Tasmania, aged 60. Will registered in Tasmania in 1849.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Lettice Maud Dryden

    Born 1852 in Launceston, Tasmania. Married 1878 in Launceston, Tasmania, aged 26.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record David Dryden

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Ocean, arriving 1823; certificate of freedom 1829.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)

Showing 3 of 517 records for Dryden 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) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (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).

Canada139 records

139 records of the Dryden name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 106
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 9
  • Other Canadian records 24
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Georgina Beatrice Dryden

    Killed in the Halifax Explosion of 1917, aged 34; buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery, Halifax.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record John Robert Dryden

    Died in service in 1944.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Harry Francis Dryden

    Died 1931 in Truro, Colchester, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Showing 3 of 139 records for Dryden 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. · 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. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

New Zealand26 records

26 records of the Dryden name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 20
  • Marlborough District cemetery records 5
  • Thames-Coromandel District cemetery records 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Elizabeth Hilda Dryden

    Died 1988, aged 84; buried at Sydenham Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Alice Dryden

    Died 1939, aged 78; buried at Picton Cemetery, Marlborough.

    Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Samuel Dryden

    Buried in 1890 at Shortland Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, aged 56.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 26 records for Dryden 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). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

United Kingdom17 records

17 records of the Dryden name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 10
  • Stirling Council burial records 5
  • Other British records 2
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Elizabeth Dryden

    Buried in 1898 at Ballengeich Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland, aged 76.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Thomas Dryden

    Will proved in 1928; of Sketty, Swansea.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record R. T. Dryden

    Northumberland Fusiliers. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 3 of 17 records for Dryden in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain) · 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); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

France1 record

1 record of the Dryden name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Harold Claude Dryden

    Born 1914 in Great Britain; died 1999 in Blois (Loir-et-Cher).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

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).

Netherlands1 record

1 record of the Dryden name in the Netherlands Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths)
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Richard Dryden

    Died 1864 in Dordrecht, aged 21.

    Open Archives, Regionaal Archief Rivierenland (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Dryden.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Dryden 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.

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