Orson

boys’ nameComeback · modern nameCompare

Orson is outside the top 1,000 in 2024, with 119 births. Its best rank was 549th, in 1883.

Rank in 2024: —outside the top 1,000
Births in 2024: 1190.01% of boys
Peak year: 2023132 births
Best rank: #549in 1883
Since 1880: 2,586people given the name

Babies named Orson, by year of birthboys

The story in the numbers

2,586 boys have been named Orson in the United States since 1880, according to Social Security records. The busiest single year was 2023, with 132 births.

This is a comeback. After an early peak the name fell to a fraction of its former share, and it has been climbing again for the past decade.

Half of everyone given the name was born by 2001, and the 2010s alone account for 23%. It has spent 13 of 145 years in the top 1,000.

Rank among boys, year by year

Higher on the chart = more popularrank (gaps = outside the top 1,000)

By decade

Decade	boys named Orson
1880s	65
1890s	39
1900s	7
1910s	184
1920s	179
1930s	126
1940s	137
1950s	139
1960s	111
1970s	146
1980s	89
1990s	61
2000s	138
2010s	585
2020s	580

In 2023, its biggest year

Orson was outside the top 1,000 that year. The top five boys’ names of 2023 were Liam, Noah, Oliver, James and Elijah. See all of 2023.

Names that rose and fell with Orson

Same sex, most similar popularity curve over 145 years, in five-year steps — the shape of the line, not the size.

What this page does not tell you. The Social Security data records how many babies were given a name, not what the name means or where it comes from — so neither do we. Counts cover people with a Social Security number; names given to fewer than five babies in a year are withheld. More on the data.