Drift: Name Meaning, Origin & Popularity

At a Glance: Name: Drift – Meaning: to be carried steadily by wind or current – Origin: English (word name, ultimately Germanic) – Gender: Boy – Pronunciation: DRIFT


Drift is an English (word name, ultimately Germanic) boy's name meaning “to be carried steadily by wind or current”. It appears in 4 of our baby name lists.

Meaning & Origin of Drift

Meaning: To be carried steadily by wind or current.

Origin: English (word name, ultimately Germanic).

A common claim: Baby-name sites often gloss Drift simply as 'to move gently' or 'go with the flow' Actually: The word's core senses include forceful movement (a strong ocean swell) and gradual change, not just gentle drifting -- 'gentle' softens its more forceful nautical origins.

Source: Wiktionary.

How to Pronounce Drift

Phonetic: DRIFT   IPA: /drɪft/

Popularity of Drift

Drift doesn’t appear in U.S. Social Security birth records, which include every name given to at least five babies in a year — so it’s rare in the U.S.

Lists That Include Drift

Similar Names

Fen · Breck · Flint · Ridge · Everest · Cove

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