Explore the Family Name Drago
The meaning of Drago
1. Italian: nickname from drago ‘dragon’; or, in some cases, from a personal name, a continuation of Latin Draco, Draconis, from draco ‘dragon’. This surname is also found in southern France. 2. Variant of Dragoo, a surname of French origin. Some characteristic forenames: Italian Salvatore, Angelo, Sal, Carlo, Domenic, Gaspare, Gasper, Leonardo, Antonino, Antonio, Domenico, Francesco.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Drago in the United States?
According to data derived from the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname 'Drago' has seen a slight decrease and an increase in count over the years. In 2000, Drago ranked as the 9614th most popular surname in the United States, with a total count of 3103 instances. By the year 2010, although the rank of this surname had dipped slightly to 9875, showing a change of -2.71%, the count of people bearing the surname increased by 5.54% to 3275. Furthermore, the proportion of the surname per 100,000 people also decreased from 1.15 in 2000 to 1.11 in 2010, indicating a -3.48% change.
2000 | 2010 | Change | |
---|---|---|---|
Rank | #9,614 | #9,875 | -2.71% |
Count | 3,103 | 3,275 | 5.54% |
Proportion per 100k | 1.15 | 1.11 | -3.48% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Drago
The Decennial U.S. Census also provided interesting insights into the ethnic identity associated with the surname 'Drago'. In 2000, a significant majority (92.62%) of individuals with this surname identified as White, followed by Hispanic at 4.71%. However, by 2010, while White remained the dominant ethnicity at 89.28%, there was a notable increase in the percentage of those identifying as Hispanic (6.47%), Black (1.65%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.31%), and those reporting two or more races (1.13%). The data also recorded a small representation (0.15%) of American Indian and Alaskan Native in 2010, which was not present in the 2000 data. These shifts highlight the evolving diversity within the population carrying the surname 'Drago'.
2000 | 2010 | Change | |
---|---|---|---|
White | 92.62% | 89.28% | -3.61% |
Hispanic | 4.71% | 6.47% | 37.37% |
Black | 0.97% | 1.65% | 70.1% |
Asian/Pacific Islander | 0% | 1.31% | 0% |
Two or More Races | 1.06% | 1.13% | 6.6% |
American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0% | 0.15% | 0% |
Drago ancestry composition
23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Drago is Italian, which comprises 30.1% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are British & Irish (29.8%) and French & German (11.0%). Additional ancestries include Eastern European, Spanish & Portuguese, Ashkenazi Jewish, Scandinavian, and Iranian, Caucasian & Mesopotamian.
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ANCESTRY BREAKDOWN | COMPOSITION |
---|---|
Italian | 30.1% |
British & Irish | 29.8% |
French & German | 11.0% |
Other | 29.1% |
Possible origins of the surname Drago
Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.
Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Drago have recent ancestry locations spanning a few countries, mostly in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and Italy.
RECENT ANCESTRY Location | Percentage |
---|---|
Glasgow City, United Kingdom | 54.70% |
Merseyside, United Kingdom | 54.70% |
West Midlands, United Kingdom | 54.70% |
Greater Manchester, United Kingdom | 54.70% |
Greater London, United Kingdom | 54.70% |
What Drago haplogroups can tell you
Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.
The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Drago is O-F2415, which is predominantly found among people with East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry. Haplogroup O-F2415 is descended from haplogroup O-M1359. Other common haplogroups include E-M183 and O-F2859, which are predominantly found among people with European and East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry.
The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Drago surname are: H1, K1a, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.
Your paternal lineage may be linked to the Cham
One of the many populations harboring members of haplogroup O1b1a1a1a1 is the Cham ethnic group, a group of people who speak Austronesian languages in Mainland Southeast Asia. Austronesian languages make up a language family that is extremely large and widespread, comprising over 350 million people on islands such as Madagascar, Easter Island, and many others. However, Austronesian languages are less common on mainland Asia, with a notable exception being the Chamic language. Research suggests that ancestors of the Cham people migrated from Southeast Asian islands to the mainland around the year 500 BCE, and that early Cham populations quickly began mixing with indigenous southern Vietnamese populations. As a result, the Chamic language now has words that were borrowed from languages spoken by indigenous Vietnamese people. It is likely that an ancestral Kinh population was one of the populations that mixed with the Cham people shortly after their migration to mainland Asia.
Your maternal lineage may be linked to Marie Antoinette
Because it is so dominant in the general European population, haplogroup H also appears quite frequently in the continent's royal houses. Marie Antoinette, an Austrian Hapsburg who married into the French royal family, inherited the haplogroup from her maternal ancestors. So did Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whose recorded genealogy traces his female line to Bavaria. Scientists also discovered that famed 16th century astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus traced his maternal lineages to haplogroup H.
What do people with the surname Drago have in common?
Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.
Preferences
Traits
Habits
Wellness
Are health conditions linked to the last name Drago?
The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.
Disease variant frequency by ancestry
Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Drago are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition