Drab Family History

Czech and Slovak (Dráb): occupational name from Czech dráb, which originally meant a foot soldier, but also came to denote a servant or retainer, especially an overseer of workers on an estate. Polish: nickname from drab ‘mercenary’; later ‘tall, strapping fellow’, and finally ‘ruffian’. Etymologically, this is the same word as in 1, but the sense development has been very different. Slovenian: unexplained.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names ©2013, Oxford University Press