Explore the Family Name Drain
The meaning of Drain
1. Irish (Down): shortened Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Dreain ‘descendant of Drean’, a byname possibly from dreán ‘wren’. The name is also found in Scotland. 2. Irish (Cork): shortened Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Druacháin (see Drohan). 3. English: topographic name from Middle English dreine, drene ‘drainage channel’, for someone who lived ‘(by the) drain or ditch’. 4. French: shortened form of Derain, from Old French dererain ‘last’, hence a nickname for the youngest son of a family. 5. French: habitational name from a place in Maine-et-Loire called Drain.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Drain in the United States?
Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Drain has seen a slight decrease in popularity between 2000 and 2010. Ranked as the 8351st most popular surname in 2000, it slipped to 8527th by 2010, marking a change of -2.11%. Despite this, the count of individuals with this surname actually increased from 3643 to 3859 over the same period, a rise of 5.93%. However, the proportion of people with the surname Drain per 100k population decreased by -2.96%.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #8,351 | #8,527 | -2.11% |
| Count | 3,643 | 3,859 | 5.93% |
| Proportion per 100k | 1.35 | 1.31 | -2.96% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Drain
In relation to ethnic identity, the data from the Decennial U.S. Census shows some shifts among those with the Drain surname between 2000 and 2010. The percentage identifying as White decreased slightly from 65.22% to 62.87%. Meanwhile, those identifying as Black saw a modest increase from 30.63% to 31.30%. Notably, there were marked increases in those identifying as either Hispanic (from 1.18% to 1.71%), belonging to two or more races (from 1.78% to 2.57%), or American Indian and Alaskan Native (from 0.69% to 1.01%). The Asian/Pacific Islander category also experienced a small increase, rising from 0.49% to 0.54% over the decade.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 65.22% | 62.87% | -3.6% |
| Black | 30.63% | 31.3% | 2.19% |
| Two or More Races | 1.78% | 2.57% | 44.38% |
| Hispanic | 1.18% | 1.71% | 44.92% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.69% | 1.01% | 46.38% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 0.49% | 0.54% | 10.2% |