Explore the Family Name Drakes

The meaning of Drakes

1. English: variant of Drake, with post-medieval excrescent -s. 2. English: habitational name from Drax (Yorkshire). The placename probably derives from Old English dræg ‘portage, place where boats are dragged’ or dræg ‘drag net’, influenced by Old Norse drag ‘portage’, with a plural drages being shortened to drags, Drax. 3. In some cases perhaps an Americanized form of some similar (like-sounding) cognate in some other language.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Drakes in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Drakes saw a rise in popularity between 2000 and 2010. In the year 2000, it ranked 24,701 in popularity with a total of 947 individuals carrying the surname. By 2010, the rank had increased to 22,026, demonstrating a positive change of 10.83%. The count of individuals with this surname also increased during this period from 947 to 1,177, indicating a growth rate of 24.29%. For every 100,000 people, there were 0.35 individuals named Drakes in 2000 which increased to 0.4 by 2010.

20002010Change
Rank#24,701#22,02610.83%
Count9471,17724.29%
Proportion per 100k0.350.414.29%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Drakes

When focusing on ethnicity linked to the surname Drakes as per the Decennial U.S. Census, significant diversity is seen. A major proportion identifying as Black maintained a consistent presence, marking a slight increase from 72.54% in 2000 to 72.56% in 2010. Those identifying as White decreased from 20.06% in 2000 to 17.25% in 2010. Interestingly, the Hispanic representation almost doubled from 3.80% in 2000 to 7.39% in 2010. The category of two or more races saw a decrease from 3.38% to 2.46% over the decade. There was no data for those identifying with Asian/Pacific Islander or American Indian and Alaskan Native ethnicities.

20002010Change
Black72.54%72.56%0.03%
White20.06%17.25%-14.01%
Hispanic3.8%7.39%94.47%
Two or More Races3.38%2.46%-27.22%
Asian/Pacific Islander0%0%0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0%0%0%