Arthur, William (1857) An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names. New York: Sheldon, Blakeman. Public Domain.
DRAKE
There are approximately 15,335 people named Drake in the UK. That makes it the 654th most common surname overall. Out of every million people in the UK, approximately 243 are named Drake.
Region of origin
British Isles
Country of origin
England
Language of origin
English
Religion of origin
Christian
Classification
English
Nickname
Related and similar surnames
DredgeDrace
Dracke
Draake
Draeke
Ddrake
Draecke
Draek
Draec
Draak
Drack
Draeck
Draack
Drackes
Dracks
Drac
Drackey
Drackie
Dracka
Draaka
Draac
Dracea
The Drake surname in historical dictionaries
An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names (1857)
(origin: Gaelic.) Drak, a drake; drac, a route, a way, a footstep; one who draws or leads, a leader.
Patronymica Britannica (1860)
DRAKE. Not from the waterfowl, but from A-Sax. di'ctca (Latin rywctf,) a dragon. Le Dratjun, the Anglo-Norman form, occurs in the H.R., but the nearest approach to this that I have seen in modern times is Drago, a name which existed at Ely about a century since. Several families of Drake bear as arms the wyvern, or two-legged dragon ; and it is worthy of remark that in
Lower, Mark A (1860) Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom. London: J.R. Smith. Public Domain.