Drake Family History

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Drake Name Meaning

English: from the Old English byname Draca, meaning ‘snake’ or ‘dragon’, Middle English Drake, or sometimes from the Old Norse cognate Draki. Both are common bynames and, less frequently, personal names. Both the Old English and the Old Norse forms are from Latin draco ‘snake’, ‘monster’ (see Dragon). English and Dutch: from Middle English drake, Middle Dutch drake ‘male duck’ (from Middle Low German andrake), hence a nickname for someone with some fancied resemblance to a drake, or perhaps a habitational name for someone who lived at a house distinguished by the sign of a drake. North German: nickname from Low German drake ‘dragon’ (see Drach 1).

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


Similar surnames: Brake, Rake, Duke, Drach, Drane, Lake, Drage, Grace, Drakes, Dade

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Drake Family Origin

Where is the Drake family from?

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You can see how Drake families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Drake family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Drake families were found in the USA in 1880. In 1891 there were 2,359 Drake families living in Yorkshire. This was about 27% of all the recorded Drake's in the UK. Yorkshire had the highest population of Drake families in 1891.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Drake surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.

View Census Data for Drake

Drake Family Occupations

What did your Drake ancestors do for a living?

In 1881, a less common occupation for the Drake family was Labourer. The most common Drake occupation in the UK was Farmer. 3% of Drake's were Farmers. Farmer, Agricultural Labourer and Carpenter were the top 3 reported jobs worked by Drake.

View Census data for Drake | Data not to scale

  • Farmer

    3%

  • Agricultural Labourer

    3%

  • Carpenter

    2%

  • Labourer

    2%

Census records can tell you a lot of little known facts about your Drake ancestors, such as occupation. Occupation can tell you about your ancestor's social and economic status.

Drake Historical Records

What Drake family records will you find?

Census Record

There are 504,000 census records available for the last name Drake. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Drake census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search 1891 UK census records for Drake

Passenger List

There are 39,000 immigration records available for the last name Drake. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in the UK, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

View all Drake immigration records

Draft Card

There are 84,000 military records available for the last name Drake. For the veterans among your Drake ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

View all Drake military records

You've only scratched the surface of Drake family history.

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Drake Life Expectancy

What is the average Drake lifespan?

Between 1942 and 2004, in the United States, Drake life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1945, and highest in 2004. The average life expectancy for Drake in 1942 was 41, and 76 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Drake

An unusually short lifespan might indicate that your Drake ancestors lived in harsh conditions. A short lifespan might also indicate health problems that were once prevalent in your family. The SSDI is a searchable database of more than 70 million names. You can find birthdates, death dates, addresses and more.

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