2000
#2,219
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,036
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.57
Uncommon Last name
Driver
An occupational surname referring to a driver of horses or wagons.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 17,199 Americans carry the last name Driver. That puts it at #2,375 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.02 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 19,929 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Driver 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Driver with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
17K
1 in 19,929
Census rank
#2,375
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
15K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 14,998 bearers of the surname Driver in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.02 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2375th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Driver, the largest self-reported group is White at 69.8%. The next largest groups are Black (20.1%) and Two or More Races (4.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Driver
The surname DRIVER is an occupational name that originated in England during the medieval period. It is derived from the Old English word "drife," which means to drive or herd animals. The name likely referred to a person who drove cattle or livestock for a living.
The earliest recorded instance of the surname DRIVER can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire, dated 1182, which mention a person named William le Driver. Another early reference is the Assize Rolls of Staffordshire in 1292, which include a Robert le Drivere.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, a survey of landowners in England commissioned by William the Conqueror, there are several entries for individuals with the surname DRIVER or its variants, such as Drivere and Drivour. These entries provide evidence of the surname's existence in various parts of England during the 11th century.
The surname DRIVER is also connected to several place names in England, such as Driver's End in Berkshire and Driver's Green in Suffolk. These locations may have been named after individuals with the surname DRIVER who lived or owned land in those areas.
One notable person with the surname DRIVER was William Driver (c. 1615-1697), a renowned English botanist and author of the book "The Botanick Garden." Another was Sir Clements Robert Driver (1846-1904), a British diplomat and ambassador to Spain.
Other historical figures with the surname DRIVER include Edward Driver (1555-1598), an English Roman Catholic priest and martyr; John Driver (1703-1786), an English engraver and portrait painter; and Thomas Driver (c. 1630-1694), an English philosopher and mathematician.
The surname DRIVER has also been found in various spellings throughout history, such as Dryver, Drivere, and Drivour, reflecting the evolution of language and regional variations in pronunciation and spelling.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Driver
Among Census respondents with the surname Driver, the largest self-reported group is White at 69.8%. The next largest groups are Black (20.1%) and Two or More Races (4.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Driver 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 Driver surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White69.8% · 10,467
- Black or African American20.1% · 3,020
- Two or more races4.9% · 730
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 439
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 232
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 110
Timeline
Historical Census data for Driver
Driver 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
#2,361
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,442
+406 bearers (+2.7%)
Per 100,000 5.23
Rank movement Down 142 places
2020
#2,375
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 14,998
-444 bearers (-2.9%)
Per 100,000 5.02
Rank movement Down 14 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,219 | 15,036 | 5.57 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,361 | 15,442 | 5.23 | +406 bearers (+2.7%) | Down 142 places |
| 2020 | #2,375 | 14,998 | 5.02 | -444 bearers (-2.9%) | Down 14 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 Driver 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 | #2,361 | #2,375 | -0.6% |
| Count | 15,442 | 14,998 | -2.9% |
| Per 100K | 5.23 | 5.02 | -4.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Driver bearers went from 15,442 to 14,998 (-2.9% change). The surname moved down 14 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,361 to #2,375.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Driver
FAQ
Driver surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Driver?
Name Census estimates that about 17,199 living Americans carry the surname Driver. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 19,929 residents.
How common is Driver?
Driver ranks #2,375 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.02 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 14,998 people with the surname Driver. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (17,199), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.02 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.02 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Driver.
Has Driver become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Driver went from 15,442 recorded bearers to 14,998. That is a decrease of 444 (-2.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,361 to #2,375.
What does the Census say about the background of Driver?
Among Census respondents with the surname Driver, the largest self-reported group is White at 69.8%. The next largest groups are Black (20.1%) and Two or More Races (4.9%). 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 Driver in the 2020 Census, accounting for 69.8% (10,467 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Driver appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (69.8%), Black (20.1%), Two or More Races (4.9%). 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 Driver (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 Driver mean?
An occupational surname referring to a driver of horses or wagons. 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 Driver (5.02 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 Americans have the surname Driver?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.