2000
#11,410
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,533
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.94
Rare Last name
Drescher
An occupational surname referring to a woodturner or lathe operator.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,862 Americans carry the last name Drescher. That puts it at #11,967 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.84 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 119,760 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Drescher surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
2.9K
1 in 119,760
Census rank
#11,967
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,496 bearers of the surname Drescher in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.84 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11967th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Drescher, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Two or More Races (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Drescher
The surname Drescher is of German origin and can be traced back to the 14th century. It is derived from the German word "dreschen," which means "to thresh" or "to beat." This suggests that the name was likely originally an occupational name for someone who worked as a thresher or farmer.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Drescher can be found in various medieval German documents and records from the regions of Bavaria, Saxony, and Rhineland-Palatinate. One notable example is a mention of a "Johannes Drescher" in a land registry from the town of Bamberg, dated 1367.
During the Middle Ages, the name Drescher may have also been associated with certain place names or settlements that derived their names from the same root word. For instance, there is a village called Dreschen in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, which could have been a potential origin point for the surname.
In the 16th century, the name Drescher appeared in the records of the city of Nuremberg, where a prominent family of that name was involved in the local textile trade. One notable member was Hans Drescher (1492-1568), a wealthy merchant and member of the city council.
Another historically significant figure with the surname Drescher was Johann Gottlieb Drescher (1738-1819), a German theologian and author who served as a professor at the University of Leipzig. He published several works on biblical exegesis and church history during his lifetime.
In the 19th century, the name Drescher gained notoriety through the works of the German playwright and satirist, Adolf Drescher (1835-1905). He was known for his biting social commentary and plays that criticized the bourgeois society of his time.
Other notable individuals with the surname Drescher include the German-American actress Fran Drescher (born 1957), best known for her role in the sitcom "The Nanny," and the German soccer player Thomas Drescher (born 1979), who played for several Bundesliga clubs in the early 2000s.
While the surname Drescher has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of Europe and beyond, carried by generations of immigrants and migrants over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Drescher
Among Census respondents with the surname Drescher, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Two or More Races (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Drescher bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Drescher surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.7% · 2,289
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 101
- Two or more races3.1% · 78
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 8
- Black or African American0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Drescher
Drescher appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#12,269
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,535
+2 bearers (+0.1%)
Per 100,000 0.86
Rank movement Down 859 places
2020
#11,967
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,496
-39 bearers (-1.5%)
Per 100,000 0.84
Rank movement Up 302 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,410 | 2,533 | 0.94 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,269 | 2,535 | 0.86 | +2 bearers (+0.1%) | Down 859 places |
| 2020 | #11,967 | 2,496 | 0.84 | -39 bearers (-1.5%) | Up 302 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Drescher surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #12,269 | #11,967 | 2.5% |
| Count | 2,535 | 2,496 | -1.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.86 | 0.84 | -2.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Drescher bearers went from 2,535 to 2,496 (-1.5% change). The surname moved up 302 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,269 to #11,967.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Drescher
FAQ
Drescher surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Drescher?
Name Census estimates that about 2,862 living Americans carry the surname Drescher. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 119,760 residents.
How common is Drescher?
Drescher ranks #11,967 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.84 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,496 people with the surname Drescher. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,862), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.84 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.84 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Drescher.
Has Drescher become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Drescher went from 2,535 recorded bearers to 2,496. That is a decrease of 39 (-1.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #12,269 to #11,967.
What does the Census say about the background of Drescher?
Among Census respondents with the surname Drescher, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Two or More Races (3.1%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Drescher in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.7% (2,289 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Drescher appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.7%), Hispanic (4.0%), Two or More Races (3.1%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Drescher (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Drescher mean?
An occupational surname referring to a woodturner or lathe operator. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Drescher (0.84 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people share the surname Drescher?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.