Driver Surname

14,768th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 37,732 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
United States
Highest density in:
Aruba

Driver Surname Definition:

This surname is derived from an occupation. 'the driver.' A surname that would naturally be perpetuated; compare Carter, Wagner.

Cartman, Charter, Carrier, Packer, &c.

William le Dryver, Lancashire, 1332: Lay Subsidy (Rylands).

Read More About This Surname

Driver Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States20,1811:17,9602,276
England8,0641:6,9091,004
Australia2,8181:9,5801,428
Nigeria1,3021:136,0548,781
Canada9921:37,1434,713
New Zealand5911:7,6621,304
South Africa5311:102,03012,349
India4051:1,893,98966,120
Aruba3841:26935
Ireland3331:14,1411,641
Malawi2351:72,8479,384
Saudi Arabia1991:155,05422,057
Egypt1831:502,38128,715
Scotland1681:31,8683,219
Wales1491:20,7692,207
Fiji1261:7,0981,425
Pakistan1181:1,513,93116,403
Thailand1171:603,747102,586
Germany1141:706,18853,880
Zimbabwe1131:136,62217,842
France791:840,79499,796
Northern Ireland591:31,2723,207
Mauritius441:29,3965,731
Singapore431:128,0865,748
Malaysia331:893,76440,799
Spain321:1,461,00145,498
Greece291:382,06251,720
Netherlands291:582,31651,332
China181:75,962,3094,162
Botswana171:128,64318,229
Indonesia171:7,779,364314,803
Papua New Guinea151:543,58166,712
Belgium131:884,35769,774
Italy121:5,096,391108,968
Brazil91:23,786,037375,389
Sri Lanka91:2,312,0629,186
Tunisia91:67,8478,246
Denmark61:940,78647,603
Philippines61:16,873,037249,062
Qatar61:393,00055,922
Uganda61:6,506,546123,710
Afghanistan51:6,430,63727,710
British Virgin Islands51:6,319600
Ghana41:6,755,17315,406
Kuwait41:950,17418,811
Morocco41:8,619,02573,251
Portugal41:2,604,56016,079
Sweden41:2,461,689157,534
United Arab Emirates41:2,290,56860,372
Cambodia31:5,162,38210,688
Chile31:5,872,15852,204
Croatia31:1,409,53570,997
Hong Kong31:2,445,1619,595
Israel31:2,852,545113,505
Jersey31:33,0674,675
Norway31:1,714,09579,528
Saint Lucia31:59,5942,472
Vietnam31:30,882,0184,101
Austria21:4,257,71899,224
Bahamas21:195,8761,708
Japan21:63,922,14662,827
Mexico21:62,063,10283,384
Romania21:10,038,93580,612
Russia21:72,061,528727,117
Slovakia21:2,668,225118,680
Taiwan21:11,722,37363,559
Trinidad and Tobago21:681,98817,017
Ukraine21:22,761,348425,733
Albania11:2,914,05529,474
Algeria11:38,631,551130,422
Angola11:26,989,21411,853
Bangladesh11:159,356,77326,077
Bulgaria11:6,978,90586,260
Cameroon11:20,769,068227,406
Costa Rica11:4,780,06913,345
Cyprus11:884,87613,055
Czechia11:10,633,469206,023
Dominican Republic11:10,432,93236,508
Ethiopia11:97,546,26229,669
Georgia11:3,745,54547,852
Guernsey11:64,4392,137
Hungary11:9,816,27773,288
Iceland11:380,09011,096
Iran11:76,782,524277,718
Iraq11:35,021,65431,813
Isle of Man11:85,8224,091
Kenya11:46,179,900103,372
Kyrgyzstan11:5,972,65499,197
Liberia11:4,408,53547,110
Libya11:6,243,9746,186
Lithuania11:3,034,58847,401
Madagascar11:23,649,8379,420
Monaco11:37,0664,748
Myanmar11:51,937,9852,166
Oman11:3,687,97114,390
Peru11:31,784,12364,452
Poland11:38,008,749231,653
Puerto Rico11:3,550,1399,109
Serbia11:7,144,94838,459
Solomon Islands11:580,02922,243
Somalia11:13,452,0619,224
South Sudan11:11,415,0763,182
Tanzania11:52,941,613123,716
Turkey11:77,821,422191,047
United States Virgin Islands11:110,3756,934
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland931:47,6334,090
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England5,4211:4,496683
Scotland1151:32,5502,699
Wales341:46,1302,397
Jersey61:8,6471,503
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States3,3391:15,0401,929

Driver (1,834) may also be a first name.

Driver Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

This surname is derived from an occupation. 'the driver.' A surname that would naturally be perpetuated; compare Carter, Wagner.

Cartman, Charter, Carrier, Packer, &c.

William le Dryver, Lancashire, 1332: Lay Subsidy (Rylands).

John le Drivere, c. 1300. Writs of Parliament.

Richard le Drivere, ibid.

Johannes Dryver, 1379: Poll Tax of Yorkshire.

fern. Alicia le Driveres, Cambridgeshire, 1273. Hundred Rolls.

1563. Married — John Dryver and Alice Edwardes: St. James, Clerkenwell.

1667. — Richard Driver and Judey Hinsman: ibid.

A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (1896) by Charles Wareing Endell Bardsley

Perhaps from the occupation. Baring-Gould (p. 121) has:"Driver, the driftman; on moors the man employed to sweep together the colts and horses and cattle and sheep sent out on the commons, to a centre where the owners may claim them.".

The Surnames of Scotland (1946) by George Fraser Black (1866-1948)

(English) Driver, Drover [Middle English drivere; Old English drifan, to drive]

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

(English) One who drove a herd of cattle, especially to distant markets; same as Carter, q.v.

Dictionary of American Family Names (1956) by Elsdon Coles Smith

A carter or wagoner. Alic' la Driveres (a female wagoner !) occurs in H.R.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

A drover, one who compels or urges any thing else to move.

An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names (1857) by William Arthur

From De Rivers, a name very frequent in Normandy (12th cent.), (Magni Rotuli Scaccarii Normanniae), when Serlo, Richard, Baldwin, William, John, Walter, Robert, Osbert, Paganus de Riperia, de Riveria, and De Riveriis, occur. It was also frequent in England.

The Norman People (1874)

From the Dutch, Druyve, Drijver; a personal name.

British Family Names: Their Origin and Meaning (1903) by Henry Barber

Driver: the driftman; on moors the man employed to sweep together colts and horses and cattle and sheep sent out on the commons, to a centre where the owners may claim them, and such as have no right to send their beasts on the commons are fined. He has still his function on Dartmoor, and a drift there is a lively scene. No notice is given beforehand, except to the moormen or drivers. Horns are blown, and horses employed to drive the beasts.

Family Names And Their Story (1913) by Sabine Baring-Gould

The name of Driver is well represented in the district of Ely. It is also established in Lancashire and Yorkshire. In the 17th century a gentle family of the name resided at Avening, Gloucestershire (Rudder's "Gloucestershire"). The Doggetts of Cambridge possess a name that has characterised the county since the reign of Edward I. (H. R.). Its early form is Doget. In 1500 John Dogget was provost of King's College, Cambridge (Blom.). Lower says that it is an old London name; but Cambridgeshire is evidently its original home, as it was commonly represented there in the 13th century (H. R.). From Cambridgeshire the Doggetts have extended to adjacent counties. John Doggett was the registrar of Sudbury, Suffolk, in 1658 (Whitley's "Sapcote").

Homes of Family Names in Great Britain (1890) by Henry Brougham Guppy

Driver Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name Driver Come From? nationality or country of origin

The last name Driver (Arabic: درايفر, Marathi: दरीवर, Oriya: ଡ଼ାଇଭର) is most common in The United States. It may also occur as:. Click here to see other potential spellings of this name.

How Common Is The Last Name Driver? popularity and diffusion

This surname is the 14,768th most prevalent last name on a worldwide basis, held by around 1 in 193,140 people. It is mostly found in The Americas, where 57 percent of Driver are found; 56 percent are found in North America and 56 percent are found in Anglo-North America. It is also the 178,130th most commonly used given name world-wide. It is borne by 1,834 people.

This last name is most frequently used in The United States, where it is carried by 20,181 people, or 1 in 17,960. In The United States Driver is mostly found in: Texas, where 11 percent reside, Georgia, where 10 percent reside and North Carolina, where 8 percent reside. Beside The United States this last name exists in 104 countries. It also occurs in England, where 21 percent reside and Australia, where 7 percent reside.

Driver Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The incidence of Driver has changed over time. In The United States the number of people bearing the Driver last name increased 604 percent between 1880 and 2014; in England it increased 149 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Ireland it increased 358 percent between 1901 and 2014; in Scotland it increased 146 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in Wales it increased 438 percent between 1881 and 2014.

Driver Last Name Statistics demography

The religious adherence of those holding the Driver surname is principally Anglican (61%) in Ireland, Orthodox (60%) in Russia and Muslim (95%) in Nigeria.

In The United States those bearing the Driver last name are 12.81% more likely to be registered Republicans than the national average, with 59.58% registered with the party.

The amount Driver earn in different countries varies greatly. In South Africa they earn 49.21% more than the national average, earning R 354,588 per year; in United States they earn 6.58% less than the national average, earning $40,309 USD per year and in Canada they earn 3.57% more than the national average, earning $51,456 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Driever92997/
Drijver92895/
Drivere9248/
Draiver9212/
Driverr924/
Dreiver921/
Drivier920/
Drive91189/
Driveere861/
Drever832,279/
Drivet83440/
Dryver83110/
Driber8366/
Drives8345/
Draive834/
Drived834/
Driwer832/
Druver832/
Drivei831/
Drivez831/
Drivey830/
Dreaver77452/
Drayver77133/
Driewer77130/
Drijber7796/
Druijve7720/
Drevert774/
Driveid773/
Dreiber772/
Dreyver772/
Driewir772/
Dreever772/
Drevier771/
Dresver771/
Drivett771/
Draiber771/
Drieber771/
Drivesh771/
Drewier770/
Dreives770/
Driva73973/
Dreve73384/
Dribe7343/
Drivi7317/
Drivy730/
Dresvher718/
Dreibger711/
Drevet674,628/
Dreves671,324/
Drewer67940/
Dreber6794/
Drywer6763/
Draiva6760/
Drivis6759/
Draibe6712/
Druyve678/
Dreibe676/
Drevea676/
Drevez675/
Drievi674/
Dreave672/
Drivio672/
Dreiswerd671/
Drewie671/
Drewjr671/
Drevey670/

Driver Name Transliterations

TransliterationICU LatinPercentage of Incidence
Driver in the Oriya language
ଡ଼ାଇଭରra'ibhara-
Driver in the Marathi language
दरीवरdarivara50
वेरvera50
Driver in the Arabic language
درايفرdrayfr-

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Driver Reference & Research

Driver DNA Website - A web page dedicated to the genetic research of those who bear the surname and its variants.

Driver FamilyTree DNA Project - A description of a group researching the paternal lines of men who bear the surname with the help of DNA analysis.

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Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Driver
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis