Orville
Orville was given to 14 boys in 2025, #6,343 among boys’ names; 35,220 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 6,130 Americans named Orville and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (17% of everyone recorded); the median is 72 years old and half are between 59 and 81.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Orville by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Orville mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Orville is “a male given name originating as a coinage.”
Invented by Fanny Burney for the hero of her novel Evelina. It has been suggested that it is based on the very old Welsh forename of Eurfyl, meaning 'gold'.
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Orville?
#6,343 among boys’ names, 2025
Orville rose from #6,971 in 2015 to #6,343 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born rose from 6.3 to 8.2 per million.
1,203 babies in 1920, the peak
Orville peaked in 1920, when 1,203 babies were given it (1,195 boys, #134 among boys’ names). The 14 births of 2025 are 1% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 14 | #6,343 | 0.01 |
| 2024 | 12 | #7,142 | 0.01 |
| 2023 | 12 | #7,179 | 0.01 |
| 2022 | 13 | #6,733 | 0.01 |
| 2021 | 16 | #5,712 | 0.01 |
| 2020 | 12 | #6,920 | 0.01 |
| 2019 | 17 | #5,500 | 0.01 |
| 2018 | 11 | #7,482 | 0.01 |
| 2017 | 19 | #5,057 | 0.01 |
| 2016 | 13 | #6,619 | 0.01 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 12 | #6,971 | 0.01 |
| 2014 | 17 | #5,416 | 0.01 |
| 2013 | 13 | #6,509 | 0.01 |
| 2012 | 7 | #10,466 | under 0.01 |
| 2011 | 9 | #8,582 | under 0.01 |
| 2010 | 6 | #11,797 | under 0.01 |
| 2009 | 13 | #6,712 | 0.01 |
| 2008 | 16 | #5,691 | 0.01 |
| 2007 | 9 | #8,717 | under 0.01 |
| 2006 | 14 | #6,008 | 0.01 |
| 2005 | 9 | #8,119 | under 0.01 |
| 2004 | 11 | #6,852 | 0.01 |
| 2003 | 12 | #6,150 | 0.01 |
| 2002 | 18 | #4,444 | 0.01 |
| 2001 | 12 | #5,919 | 0.01 |
| 2000 | 18 | #4,322 | 0.01 |
| 1999 | 12 | #5,563 | 0.01 |
| 1998 | 10 | #6,172 | 0.01 |
| 1997 | 15 | #4,396 | 0.01 |
| 1996 | 19 | #3,635 | 0.01 |
| 1995 | 26 | #2,818 | 0.01 |
| 1994 | 16 | #4,033 | 0.01 |
| 1993 | 21 | #3,213 | 0.01 |
| 1992 | 16 | #3,862 | 0.01 |
| 1991 | 17 | #3,579 | 0.01 |
| 1990 | 27 | #2,531 | 0.01 |
| 1989 | 33 | #2,132 | 0.02 |
| 1988 | 27 | #2,285 | 0.01 |
| 1987 | 26 | #2,250 | 0.01 |
| 1986 | 26 | #2,204 | 0.01 |
| 1985 | 34 | #1,780 | 0.02 |
| 1984 | 23 | #2,272 | 0.01 |
| 1983 | 29 | #1,890 | 0.02 |
| 1982 | 31 | #1,842 | 0.02 |
| 1981 | 45 | #1,426 | 0.03 |
| 1980 | 45 | #1,426 | 0.03 |
| 1979 | 39 | #1,523 | 0.02 |
| 1978 | 45 | #1,385 | 0.03 |
| 1977 | 53 | #1,218 | 0.03 |
| 1976 | 46 | #1,311 | 0.03 |
| 1975 | 71 | #980 | 0.05 |
| 1974 | 57 | #1,097 | 0.04 |
| 1973 | 63 | #1,020 | 0.04 |
| 1972 | 74 | #938 | 0.05 |
| 1971 | 81 | #907 | 0.05 |
| 1970 | 86 | #874 | 0.05 |
| 1969 | 97 | #788 | 0.05 |
| 1968 | 102 | #741 | 0.06 |
| 1967 | 82 | #804 | 0.05 |
| 1966 | 112 | #701 | 0.06 |
| 1965 | 101 | #738 | 0.05 |
| 1964 | 111 | #734 | 0.06 |
| 1963 | 135 | #676 | 0.07 |
| 1962 | 121 | #701 | 0.06 |
| 1961 | 168 | #612 | 0.08 |
| 1960 | 155 | #628 | 0.07 |
| 1959 | 176 | #588 | 0.08 |
| 1958 | 183 | #571 | 0.09 |
| 1957 | 235 | #506 | 0.11 |
| 1956 | 225 | #503 | 0.11 |
| 1955 | 196 | #523 | 0.10 |
| 1954 | 244 | #466 | 0.12 |
| 1953 | 257 | #446 | 0.13 |
| 1952 | 256 | #437 | 0.13 |
| 1951 | 255 | #425 | 0.14 |
| 1950 | 263 | #415 | 0.15 |
| 1949 | 291 | #394 | 0.16 |
| 1948 | 321 | #380 | 0.18 |
| 1947 | 399 | #342 | 0.22 |
| 1946 | 332 | #359 | 0.20 |
| 1945 | 332 | #326 | 0.25 |
| 1944 | 357 | #319 | 0.26 |
| 1943 | 476 | #282 | 0.33 |
| 1942 | 445 | #287 | 0.32 |
| 1941 | 431 | #277 | 0.35 |
| 1940 | 461 | #256 | 0.40 |
| 1939 | 494 | #238 | 0.45 |
| 1938 | 447 | #257 | 0.40 |
| 1937 | 515 | #230 | 0.48 |
| 1936 | 516 | #222 | 0.50 |
| 1935 | 581 | #208 | 0.56 |
| 1934 | 593 | #209 | 0.57 |
| 1933 | 627 | #192 | 0.63 |
| 1932 | 649 | #198 | 0.62 |
| 1931 | 656 | #201 | 0.63 |
| 1930 | 747 | #187 | 0.68 |
| 1929 | 808 | #174 | 0.75 |
| 1928 | 811 | #178 | 0.73 |
| 1927 | 856 | #172 | 0.76 |
| 1926 | 894 | #164 | 0.81 |
| 1925 | 940 | #161 | 0.84 |
| 1924 | 1,035 | #155 | 0.91 |
| 1923 | 1,012 | #152 | 0.92 |
| 1922 | 1,022 | #151 | 0.94 |
| 1921 | 1,149 | #137 | 1.0 |
| 1920 | 1,195 | #134 | 1.1 |
| 1919 | 1,120 | #133 | 1.1 |
| 1918 | 1,188 | #134 | 1.2 |
| 1917 | 1,061 | #134 | 1.1 |
| 1916 | 1,063 | #131 | 1.2 |
| 1915 | 1,076 | #127 | 1.3 |
| 1914 | 787 | #133 | 1.2 |
| 1913 | 676 | #120 | 1.3 |
| 1912 | 477 | #136 | 1.1 |
| 1911 | 230 | #146 | 1.0 |
| 1910 | 223 | #142 | 1.1 |
| 1909 | 218 | #126 | 1.3 |
| 1908 | 153 | #154 | 1.0 |
| 1907 | 148 | #154 | 1.0 |
| 1906 | 148 | #140 | 1.1 |
| 1905 | 125 | #163 | 0.94 |
| 1904 | 134 | #146 | 1.0 |
| 1903 | 125 | #150 | 1.0 |
| 1902 | 108 | #164 | 0.88 |
| 1901 | 94 | #162 | 0.88 |
| 1900 | 112 | #186 | 0.74 |
| 1899 | 94 | #162 | 0.89 |
| 1898 | 101 | #164 | 0.82 |
| 1897 | 83 | #185 | 0.74 |
| 1896 | 89 | #183 | 0.74 |
| 1895 | 92 | #170 | 0.78 |
| 1894 | 105 | #146 | 0.91 |
| 1893 | 78 | #188 | 0.69 |
| 1892 | 84 | #187 | 0.69 |
| 1891 | 56 | #212 | 0.55 |
| 1890 | 88 | #162 | 0.79 |
| 1889 | 64 | #203 | 0.58 |
| 1888 | 87 | #174 | 0.72 |
| 1887 | 54 | #213 | 0.53 |
| 1886 | 63 | #212 | 0.57 |
| 1885 | 79 | #168 | 0.73 |
| 1884 | 53 | #234 | 0.46 |
| 1883 | 59 | #198 | 0.56 |
| 1882 | 46 | #254 | 0.40 |
| 1881 | 61 | #191 | 0.61 |
| 1880 | 49 | #239 | 0.44 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Orville a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Orville has been given almost only to boys: 155 girls in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Orville: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Orville, and how old are they?
6,130 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 17% of the 35,220 Americans ever recorded as Orville. The median Orville alive today is 72 years old; half are between 59 and 81.
The 2020 Census counted 8,836 people named Orville (27 women and girls, 8,809 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 8,222 born in the U.S. The Census count is 7% above that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 1,610 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 2,720 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 1,010 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 394 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 188 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 180 |
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 Orville born?
The states with the most babies named Orville are Illinois, Kentucky and Missouri, with 22% of its births recorded by state since 1910; Kentucky and Missouri are not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois | 2,179 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| Kentucky | 2,044 | not ranked | 2.5× |
| Missouri | 1,990 | not ranked | 2.2× |
| Minnesota | 1,793 | not ranked | 2.5× |
| Ohio | 1,755 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Wisconsin | 1,743 | not ranked | 2.2× |
| Oklahoma | 1,439 | not ranked | 2.2× |
| Iowa | 1,390 | not ranked | 2.1× |
| Michigan | 1,314 | not ranked | 1.0× |
| Indiana | 1,260 | not ranked | 1.5× |
Where Orville is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Orville is most over-represented in North Dakota: since 1910 it was given 3.5 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 Orville 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 2 names spelled alike, given to 35,338 babies since 1880, Orville is the most given (100% of them).
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 Orville
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 Orville and names like it
- Compare Orville and OrvileBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1920sOrville peaked in 1920.
- Illinois’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Orville since 1910.
- Coined namesWiktionary’s origin for Orville: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1920The year the most babies were named Orville.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Orville alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with OMost given first.