Orion
Orion was given to 1,012 boys in 2025, #334 among boys’ names; 23,750 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 22,600 Americans named Orion and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (95% of everyone recorded); the median is 11 years old and half are between 6 and 21.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Orion by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Orion mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Orion is “a male given name from Ancient Greek of modern usage.” Its etymology gives the sense “heaven's light” (𒌋𒊒𒀭𒈾).
From Middle English Orioun, from Latin Ōrīōn, from Ancient Greek Ὠρίων (Ōríōn), speculatively from Akkadian 𒌋𒊒𒀭𒈾 (Uru-anna, “heaven’s light”), though without any firm evidence.
/əˈɹaɪ.ən/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Orion?
#334 among boys’ names, 2025
Orion rose from #367 in 2015 to #334 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born rose from 0.46 to 0.59 per 1,000.
1,186 babies in 2018, the peak
Orion peaked in 2018, when 1,186 babies were given it (1,152 boys, #300 among boys’ names). The 1,030 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are 87% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1,012 | #334 | 0.59 |
| 2024 | 1,065 | #325 | 0.62 |
| 2023 | 869 | #373 | 0.51 |
| 2022 | 1,021 | #332 | 0.58 |
| 2021 | 1,056 | #314 | 0.60 |
| 2020 | 1,016 | #325 | 0.59 |
| 2019 | 1,077 | #313 | 0.60 |
| 2018 | 1,152 | #300 | 0.63 |
| 2017 | 1,023 | #335 | 0.55 |
| 2016 | 1,072 | #324 | 0.56 |
Every recorded year (128)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 877 | #367 | 0.46 |
| 2014 | 821 | #381 | 0.43 |
| 2013 | 759 | #395 | 0.40 |
| 2012 | 679 | #419 | 0.36 |
| 2011 | 574 | #471 | 0.30 |
| 2010 | 561 | #467 | 0.29 |
| 2009 | 519 | #524 | 0.26 |
| 2008 | 496 | #535 | 0.24 |
| 2007 | 469 | #549 | 0.23 |
| 2006 | 486 | #527 | 0.24 |
| 2005 | 427 | #558 | 0.21 |
| 2004 | 418 | #551 | 0.21 |
| 2003 | 399 | #562 | 0.20 |
| 2002 | 367 | #584 | 0.19 |
| 2001 | 404 | #540 | 0.21 |
| 2000 | 382 | #554 | 0.19 |
| 1999 | 377 | #541 | 0.20 |
| 1998 | 372 | #539 | 0.19 |
| 1997 | 195 | #763 | 0.10 |
| 1996 | 185 | #786 | 0.10 |
| 1995 | 168 | #828 | 0.09 |
| 1994 | 148 | #892 | 0.08 |
| 1993 | 108 | #1,072 | 0.06 |
| 1992 | 92 | #1,150 | 0.05 |
| 1991 | 117 | #988 | 0.06 |
| 1990 | 90 | #1,137 | 0.04 |
| 1989 | 89 | #1,122 | 0.04 |
| 1988 | 78 | #1,136 | 0.04 |
| 1987 | 83 | #1,050 | 0.04 |
| 1986 | 56 | #1,312 | 0.03 |
| 1985 | 64 | #1,176 | 0.03 |
| 1984 | 72 | #1,057 | 0.04 |
| 1983 | 76 | #1,018 | 0.04 |
| 1982 | 87 | #967 | 0.05 |
| 1981 | 67 | #1,123 | 0.04 |
| 1980 | 61 | #1,173 | 0.03 |
| 1979 | 81 | #987 | 0.05 |
| 1978 | 66 | #1,074 | 0.04 |
| 1977 | 67 | #1,061 | 0.04 |
| 1976 | 57 | #1,140 | 0.04 |
| 1975 | 58 | #1,111 | 0.04 |
| 1974 | 54 | #1,119 | 0.03 |
| 1973 | 35 | #1,451 | 0.02 |
| 1972 | 38 | #1,384 | 0.02 |
| 1971 | 32 | #1,548 | 0.02 |
| 1970 | 12 | #2,837 | 0.01 |
| 1969 | 18 | #2,028 | 0.01 |
| 1968 | 14 | #2,274 | 0.01 |
| 1967 | 8 | #3,168 | under 0.01 |
| 1966 | 13 | #2,306 | 0.01 |
| 1965 | 5 | #4,288 | under 0.01 |
| 1963 | 7 | #3,563 | under 0.01 |
| 1962 | 10 | #2,796 | under 0.01 |
| 1960 | 7 | #3,561 | under 0.01 |
| 1958 | 9 | #2,970 | under 0.01 |
| 1957 | 10 | #2,776 | under 0.01 |
| 1956 | 16 | #2,070 | 0.01 |
| 1954 | 11 | #2,561 | 0.01 |
| 1953 | 11 | #2,494 | 0.01 |
| 1952 | 6 | #3,631 | under 0.01 |
| 1951 | 11 | #2,462 | 0.01 |
| 1950 | 10 | #2,539 | 0.01 |
| 1949 | 9 | #2,748 | 0.01 |
| 1948 | 11 | #2,409 | 0.01 |
| 1947 | 8 | #3,032 | under 0.01 |
| 1946 | 7 | #3,102 | under 0.01 |
| 1945 | 13 | #1,992 | 0.01 |
| 1944 | 6 | #3,348 | under 0.01 |
| 1943 | 26 | #1,392 | 0.02 |
| 1942 | 17 | #1,783 | 0.01 |
| 1941 | 15 | #1,876 | 0.01 |
| 1940 | 9 | #2,622 | 0.01 |
| 1939 | 20 | #1,521 | 0.02 |
| 1938 | 12 | #2,153 | 0.01 |
| 1937 | 10 | #2,436 | 0.01 |
| 1936 | 14 | #1,943 | 0.01 |
| 1935 | 18 | #1,697 | 0.02 |
| 1934 | 16 | #1,834 | 0.02 |
| 1933 | 15 | #1,888 | 0.02 |
| 1932 | 16 | #1,900 | 0.02 |
| 1931 | 13 | #2,178 | 0.01 |
| 1930 | 20 | #1,681 | 0.02 |
| 1929 | 19 | #1,772 | 0.02 |
| 1928 | 29 | #1,373 | 0.03 |
| 1927 | 24 | #1,591 | 0.02 |
| 1926 | 22 | #1,646 | 0.02 |
| 1925 | 27 | #1,443 | 0.02 |
| 1924 | 30 | #1,373 | 0.03 |
| 1923 | 38 | #1,171 | 0.03 |
| 1922 | 27 | #1,461 | 0.02 |
| 1921 | 32 | #1,317 | 0.03 |
| 1920 | 33 | #1,269 | 0.03 |
| 1919 | 34 | #1,224 | 0.03 |
| 1918 | 26 | #1,435 | 0.03 |
| 1917 | 31 | #1,234 | 0.03 |
| 1916 | 25 | #1,405 | 0.03 |
| 1915 | 28 | #1,258 | 0.03 |
| 1914 | 16 | #1,589 | 0.02 |
| 1913 | 14 | #1,486 | 0.03 |
| 1912 | 11 | #1,595 | 0.03 |
| 1911 | 7 | #1,499 | 0.03 |
| 1909 | 7 | #1,237 | 0.04 |
| 1908 | 6 | #1,329 | 0.04 |
| 1907 | 6 | #1,299 | 0.04 |
| 1905 | 6 | #1,196 | 0.05 |
| 1904 | 5 | #1,349 | 0.04 |
| 1900 | 7 | #1,136 | 0.05 |
| 1899 | 5 | #1,161 | 0.05 |
| 1898 | 7 | #965 | 0.06 |
| 1897 | 13 | #611 | 0.12 |
| 1896 | 16 | #530 | 0.13 |
| 1895 | 8 | #851 | 0.07 |
| 1889 | 7 | #864 | 0.06 |
| 1888 | 6 | #1,007 | 0.05 |
| 1887 | 6 | #891 | 0.06 |
| 1886 | 5 | #1,067 | 0.05 |
| 1885 | 5 | #1,057 | 0.05 |
| 1880 | 5 | #1,025 | 0.05 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Orion a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 23,750 Americans recorded as Orion, 3% are girls and 97% boys. In 2025 it went to 18 girls and 1,012 boys.
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Orion: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Orion, and how old are they?
22,600 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 95% of the 23,750 Americans ever recorded as Orion. The median Orion alive today is 11 years old; half are between 6 and 21.
The 2020 Census counted 15,212 people named Orion (479 women and girls, 14,733 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 16,811 born in the U.S. The Census count is 10% below that prediction. Possible reasons: people who give a short form or another name to the Census, and a survival estimate that can run high.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 51 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 91 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 558 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 1,540 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 7,250 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 13,100 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Orion born?
The states with the most babies named Orion are California, Texas and Florida, with 29% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 152 | #245 | 1.2× |
| Texas | 84 | #416 | 0.7× |
| Florida | 54 | #366 | 0.9× |
| New York | 47 | #379 | 0.7× |
| Washington | 40 | #206 | 1.8× |
| Indiana | 37 | #228 | 0.8× |
| Colorado | 36 | #195 | 2.0× |
| North Carolina | 34 | #347 | 0.6× |
| Arizona | 33 | #247 | 1.4× |
| Oregon | 33 | #126 | 2.3× |
Where Orion is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Orion is most over-represented in Alaska: since 1910 it was given 3.0 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Orion with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 52,899 babies since 1880, Orion is the most given (45% of them). In 2025 it was given to 1,030 of their 1,433 babies (72%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Orion
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Orion and names like it
- Compare Orion and OrenBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2010sOrion peaked in 2018.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Orion since 1910.
- Ancient Greek namesWiktionary’s origin for Orion: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 2018The year the most babies were named Orion.
- The names of Generation AlphaMost people named Orion alive today were born 2013-2025.
- Names starting with OMost given first.