# Draper (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/draper/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

An English surname originating as an occupation for a draper (cloth merchant).

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | not recorded |
| Type | occupational, named after the work an ancestor did |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 24,337 |
| US rank (2010) | 1,467 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 12,686 people |
| Change since 2000 | +4.7% (23,242 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈdɹeɪpɚ/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | Drapper |

## Etymology

English occupational surname, from the noun draper.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Draper in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 79% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 14% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.4% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.6% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 1.8% |
| Two or more races | 1.9% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Draper in the United States, Croatia and the Kingdom of Great Britain.

## People named Draper

- Henry Draper, American physician and astronomer (1837–1882)
- John William Draper, British-American academic (1811-1882)
- John Draper, American computer programmer and former phone phreak
- Charles Stark Draper, American engineer (1901–1987)
- Foy Draper, athletics competitor (1911–1943)
- Polly Draper, actress, director, writer, and producer (born 1955)
- Dontaye Draper, American basketball player
- Courtnee Draper, American actress
- Hal Draper, American activist and author (1914-1990)
- Fred Draper, American actor (1925-1999)
- Dorothy Draper, American interior designer (1889-1969)
- Jesse Draper, actress and talk show host

and 6 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Driver, Dearborn, Derryberry.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.