Orson
Orson was given to 126 boys in 2025, #1,433 among boys’ names; 2,714 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 1,950 Americans named Orson and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (72% of everyone recorded); the median is 10 years old and half are between 4 and 32.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Orson by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Orson mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Orson is “a male given name transferred from the surname.”
/ˈɔɹsən/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Orson?
#1,433 among boys’ names, 2025
Orson rose from #2,126 in 2015 to #1,433 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born rose from 34.4 to 73.8 per million.
132 babies in 2023, the peak
Orson peaked in 2023, when 132 boys were given it, #1,400 among boys’ names. The 126 births of 2025 are 95% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 126 | #1,433 | 0.07 |
| 2024 | 121 | #1,492 | 0.07 |
| 2023 | 132 | #1,400 | 0.08 |
| 2022 | 127 | #1,437 | 0.07 |
| 2021 | 98 | #1,684 | 0.06 |
| 2020 | 104 | #1,573 | 0.06 |
| 2019 | 105 | #1,589 | 0.06 |
| 2018 | 63 | #2,201 | 0.03 |
| 2017 | 73 | #1,968 | 0.04 |
| 2016 | 90 | #1,735 | 0.05 |
Every recorded year (129)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 66 | #2,126 | 0.03 |
| 2014 | 53 | #2,418 | 0.03 |
| 2013 | 42 | #2,794 | 0.02 |
| 2012 | 31 | #3,503 | 0.02 |
| 2011 | 34 | #3,286 | 0.02 |
| 2010 | 28 | #3,779 | 0.01 |
| 2009 | 23 | #4,392 | 0.01 |
| 2008 | 18 | #5,197 | 0.01 |
| 2007 | 23 | #4,328 | 0.01 |
| 2006 | 14 | #6,007 | 0.01 |
| 2005 | 13 | #6,121 | 0.01 |
| 2004 | 7 | #9,668 | under 0.01 |
| 2003 | 11 | #6,598 | 0.01 |
| 2002 | 12 | #5,969 | 0.01 |
| 2001 | 9 | #7,349 | under 0.01 |
| 2000 | 8 | #7,981 | under 0.01 |
| 1999 | 8 | #7,672 | under 0.01 |
| 1998 | 7 | #8,204 | under 0.01 |
| 1997 | 7 | #7,892 | under 0.01 |
| 1996 | 8 | #6,936 | under 0.01 |
| 1995 | 7 | #7,570 | under 0.01 |
| 1994 | 8 | #6,802 | under 0.01 |
| 1991 | 9 | #5,806 | under 0.01 |
| 1990 | 7 | #6,954 | under 0.01 |
| 1989 | 6 | #7,644 | under 0.01 |
| 1988 | 14 | #3,648 | 0.01 |
| 1987 | 7 | #5,914 | under 0.01 |
| 1986 | 11 | #4,051 | 0.01 |
| 1985 | 7 | #5,580 | under 0.01 |
| 1983 | 10 | #4,066 | 0.01 |
| 1982 | 9 | #4,489 | under 0.01 |
| 1981 | 12 | #3,549 | 0.01 |
| 1980 | 13 | #3,380 | 0.01 |
| 1979 | 12 | #3,507 | 0.01 |
| 1978 | 12 | #3,346 | 0.01 |
| 1977 | 11 | #3,532 | 0.01 |
| 1976 | 18 | #2,479 | 0.01 |
| 1975 | 14 | #2,863 | 0.01 |
| 1974 | 19 | #2,253 | 0.01 |
| 1973 | 9 | #3,619 | 0.01 |
| 1972 | 8 | #3,870 | under 0.01 |
| 1971 | 19 | #2,184 | 0.01 |
| 1970 | 24 | #1,834 | 0.01 |
| 1969 | 15 | #2,281 | 0.01 |
| 1968 | 9 | #3,034 | 0.01 |
| 1967 | 8 | #3,170 | under 0.01 |
| 1966 | 13 | #2,307 | 0.01 |
| 1965 | 14 | #2,238 | 0.01 |
| 1964 | 6 | #3,918 | under 0.01 |
| 1963 | 17 | #2,020 | 0.01 |
| 1962 | 11 | #2,632 | 0.01 |
| 1961 | 10 | #2,840 | under 0.01 |
| 1960 | 8 | #3,261 | under 0.01 |
| 1959 | 8 | #3,214 | under 0.01 |
| 1958 | 21 | #1,755 | 0.01 |
| 1957 | 17 | #2,000 | 0.01 |
| 1956 | 19 | #1,872 | 0.01 |
| 1955 | 8 | #3,137 | under 0.01 |
| 1954 | 14 | #2,186 | 0.01 |
| 1953 | 11 | #2,495 | 0.01 |
| 1952 | 13 | #2,225 | 0.01 |
| 1951 | 13 | #2,222 | 0.01 |
| 1950 | 15 | #2,002 | 0.01 |
| 1949 | 12 | #2,304 | 0.01 |
| 1948 | 8 | #2,948 | under 0.01 |
| 1947 | 14 | #2,144 | 0.01 |
| 1946 | 18 | #1,739 | 0.01 |
| 1945 | 16 | #1,745 | 0.01 |
| 1944 | 18 | #1,665 | 0.01 |
| 1943 | 9 | #2,687 | 0.01 |
| 1942 | 7 | #3,136 | 0.01 |
| 1941 | 13 | #2,064 | 0.01 |
| 1940 | 22 | #1,460 | 0.02 |
| 1939 | 16 | #1,774 | 0.01 |
| 1938 | 9 | #2,602 | 0.01 |
| 1937 | 11 | #2,298 | 0.01 |
| 1936 | 13 | #2,039 | 0.01 |
| 1935 | 8 | #2,883 | 0.01 |
| 1934 | 16 | #1,835 | 0.02 |
| 1933 | 12 | #2,187 | 0.01 |
| 1932 | 11 | #2,430 | 0.01 |
| 1931 | 17 | #1,818 | 0.02 |
| 1930 | 13 | #2,267 | 0.01 |
| 1929 | 16 | #1,983 | 0.01 |
| 1928 | 15 | #2,130 | 0.01 |
| 1927 | 9 | #3,088 | 0.01 |
| 1926 | 18 | #1,890 | 0.02 |
| 1925 | 19 | #1,853 | 0.02 |
| 1924 | 26 | #1,523 | 0.02 |
| 1923 | 26 | #1,485 | 0.02 |
| 1922 | 21 | #1,745 | 0.02 |
| 1921 | 11 | #2,753 | 0.01 |
| 1920 | 18 | #1,943 | 0.02 |
| 1919 | 29 | #1,342 | 0.03 |
| 1918 | 23 | #1,579 | 0.02 |
| 1917 | 22 | #1,570 | 0.02 |
| 1916 | 21 | #1,582 | 0.02 |
| 1915 | 24 | #1,398 | 0.03 |
| 1914 | 15 | #1,664 | 0.02 |
| 1913 | 25 | #1,018 | 0.05 |
| 1912 | 10 | #1,709 | 0.02 |
| 1911 | 8 | #1,356 | 0.04 |
| 1910 | 7 | #1,390 | 0.04 |
| 1901 | 7 | #920 | 0.07 |
| 1899 | 5 | #1,162 | 0.05 |
| 1898 | 7 | #966 | 0.06 |
| 1896 | 8 | #876 | 0.07 |
| 1895 | 7 | #955 | 0.06 |
| 1892 | 7 | #931 | 0.06 |
| 1891 | 5 | #1,086 | 0.05 |
| 1888 | 7 | #894 | 0.06 |
| 1887 | 6 | #892 | 0.06 |
| 1886 | 5 | #1,069 | 0.05 |
| 1885 | 6 | #909 | 0.06 |
| 1884 | 6 | #943 | 0.05 |
| 1883 | 12 | #549 | 0.11 |
| 1882 | 9 | #684 | 0.08 |
| 1881 | 7 | #759 | 0.07 |
| 1880 | 7 | #788 | 0.06 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Orson a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Orson has been recorded only for boys: SSA lists no girls with the name in 129 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Orson: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Orson, and how old are they?
1,950 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 72% of the 2,714 Americans ever recorded as Orson. The median Orson alive today is 10 years old; half are between 4 and 32.
The 2020 Census counted 1,398 people named Orson (1 woman or girl, 1,397 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 1,344 born in the U.S. The Census count is 4% above that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 47 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 159 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 192 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 109 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 250 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 1,190 |
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 Orson born?
The states with the most babies named Orson are California, New York and Texas, with 41% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 11 | #1,556 | 0.6× |
| New York | 10 | #1,189 | 0.7× |
| Texas | 9 | #1,864 | 0.3× |
| Washington | 8 | #789 | 0.8× |
| Ohio | 6 | #1,219 | 0.2× |
| Colorado | 5 | #928 | 0.6× |
| Minnesota | 5 | #903 | 0.3× |
| Illinois | 5 | #1,434 | 0.1× |
| Virginia | 5 | #1,213 | 0.2× |
| North Carolina | 5 | #1,420 | 0.1× |
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 Orson with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Orson
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 Orson and names like it
- Compare Orson and RushBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2020sOrson peaked in 2023.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Orson since 1910.
- From surnamesWiktionary’s origin for Orson: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 2023The year the most babies were named Orson.
- The names of Generation AlphaMost people named Orson alive today were born 2013-2025.
- Names starting with OMost given first.