Oreste
Of Greek origin, meaning "mountain" or "of the mountains".
Name Census estimates that about 97 living Americans carry the first name Oreste. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Oreste today is around 66 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Oreste births was 1921 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Oreste. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Oreste is about 66 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Orestes were born before 1970.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Oreste. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
97
~ 1 in 3,533,550 Americans
Peak year
1921
17 babies that year
Average age
66
years old
1987 SSA rank
#6,725
Tracked since 1912
Census
Oreste in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 760 people with the first name Oreste, which placed it at #15,210 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#15,210
National first-name rank
People counted
760
760 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
59.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Oreste
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Oreste is Hispanic at 59.7%. The next largest groups are White (29.9%) and Black (8.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Oreste described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Oreste at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino59.7% · 454
- White29.9% · 227
- Black or African American8.7% · 66
- Two or more races0.9% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 2
Popularity
Oreste: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Oreste from the 1910s through to the 1980s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 119 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Oreste by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Oreste during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Orestes live
Origin
Meaning and history of Oreste
The name Oreste has its origins in Greek mythology and literature, derived from the Greek word "orestos," meaning "mountainous" or "of the mountains." It is the name of a prominent character in ancient Greek tragedies, particularly those written by the legendary playwright Aeschylus.
In Greek mythology, Orestes was the son of Agamemnon, the king of Mycenae, and Clytemnestra. He played a pivotal role in the Oresteia trilogy, a series of tragic plays by Aeschylus that explored themes of vengeance, justice, and the consequences of one's actions. The story revolves around Orestes' quest to avenge his father's murder at the hands of his mother and her lover, Aegisthus.
The name Orestes first appeared in ancient Greek literature, most notably in Aeschylus' plays "Agamemnon," "The Libation Bearers," and "The Eumenides," which were composed around 458 BCE. These plays were foundational works in the development of Greek tragedy and have had a lasting impact on Western literature and drama.
Throughout history, the name Oreste has been borne by several notable individuals. One of the earliest recorded examples is Orestes of Sardis, a Greek historian who lived in the 5th century BCE and wrote a history of the Persian Wars. Another noteworthy figure is Oreste Piccolomini (1468-1537), an Italian cardinal and diplomat who played a significant role in the politics of the Renaissance period.
In the realm of arts and literature, Oreste Sindici (1828-1904) was an Italian painter known for his historical and mythological works, while Oreste Ristori (1857-1912) was an Italian playwright and journalist. In the field of music, Oreste Ravanello (1871-1938) was an Italian operatic tenor who performed at some of the world's most prestigious venues.
One of the most famous individuals with the name Oreste was Oreste Salomone (1888-1957), an Italian painter and sculptor who was a prominent figure in the Futurist movement. His works, characterized by their dynamic and avant-garde style, are celebrated for their exploration of motion and energy.
These are just a few examples of the many individuals throughout history who have borne the name Oreste, a name that has its roots in ancient Greek literature and mythology, and has left an indelible mark on various fields, including arts, literature, and culture.
People
Oreste + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Oreste as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with O
Other first names starting with O with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Oreste: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Oreste?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 97 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Oreste going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 3,533,550 US residents.
Is Oreste a common name?
We classify Oreste as "Very Rare". It ranks above 64.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 357 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Oreste most popular?
The single biggest year for Oreste was 1921, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Oreste is about 66 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Oreste in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 760 people with the name Oreste, or 0.25 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,210 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Oreste in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Oreste?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Oreste appears almost entirely male. Of the 761 people counted with this name, 99.3% were male and only a very small share were female. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Oreste?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Oreste is Hispanic at 59.7%. The next largest groups are White (29.9%) and Black (8.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Oreste most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Oreste in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.7% (454 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Oreste in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Oreste a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Oreste in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Oreste still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Oreste in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Oreste can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are named Oreste?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.