Drake
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Meaning
from a surname, from the Old Norse byname Draki or Old English Draca, 'dragon'; also the word for a male duck
The story
Drake comes from an English surname built on the Old Norse byname Draki or the Old English byname Draca, both meaning "dragon", both carried via Latin from the Greek drakon, "dragon, serpent", says Behind the Name, which adds two footnotes: the name coincides with the unrelated English word for a male duck, and its famous bearer is the Canadian actor and rapper Drake, born Aubrey Drake Graham in 1986. The record's climb started while that bearer was still a boy: about 1,200 boys in the 1980s, about 7,400 in the 1990s, about 13,500 in the 2000s, about 10,500 in the 2010s, and about 2,600 so far this decade. A dragon by way of three languages, a duck by pure coincidence, and an American run that was already at full speed before the charts weighed in.
How popular is Drake around the world?
In the United States, 2,583 babies were named Drake between 2020 and 2025.
Drake is on the official records of the United States, Chile, Canada, Mexico City, Argentina, England and Wales, Spain and Brazil.
United States
1 in 8,400
In the United States, 2,583 babies were named Drake between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Drake peaked in the 2000s and the 2010s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Chile
1 in 45,000
In Chile, 4 boys were registered as Drake in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
The count never rose above 9 in a year, too few to chart.
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
Canada
1 in 46,000
In Canada, 8 boys named Drake were born in 2024, ranked 2,328th among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
Mexico City City
1 in 59,000
In Mexico City, there were 2 registrations of Drake in 2022.
share of that year’s registrations in the city
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Argentina
1 in 110,000
In Argentina, 6 newborns were given the name Drake in 2024.
The count never rose above 6 in a year, too few to chart.
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
England and Wales
1 in 120,000
In England and Wales, 5 boys named Drake were born in 2025, ranked 3,684th among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Spain
1 in 950,000
In Spain, 47 residents are named Drake, ranked 15,240th among men, with a mean age of 8.2 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Brazil
At the 2022 census, 45 people in Brazil were named Drake, ranked 71,575th, with a median age of 4.
The census also counted 22 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Ireland
last on record 2012
Drake is not on the 2025 record for Ireland, where names under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
New Zealand
last on record 2012
Drake is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Scotland
last on record 2018
Drake is not on the 2024 record for Scotland, where spellings under 3 in total are suppressed at source.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
South Australia
last on record 2016
Drake is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Not on the record in Puerto Rico and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Austria record for 1984 to 2025: Statistik Austria publishes every first name down to a single birth, so this name was not given there in those years (before 2010 the record covers babies with Austrian citizenship only). Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Drake
Most people given the name Drake in the United States are teenagers or young adults today.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Drake deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Drake truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Drake fits with your family’s names and surname.
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