Orin
An Irish name meaning "green" in reference to the color.
Name Census estimates that about 3,530 living Americans carry the first name Orin. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Orin today is around 38 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Orin births was 1920 (111 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Orin. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Orin with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
3.5K
~ 1 in 97,098 Americans
Peak year
1920
111 babies that year
Average age
38
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,246
Tracked since 1880
Census
Orin in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,394 people with the first name Orin, which placed it at #5,149 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
#5,149
National first-name rank
People counted
3.4K
3,394 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
69.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Orin
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Orin is White at 69.7%. The next largest groups are Black (17.6%) and Two or More Races (4.7%). 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 Orin 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 Orin at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White69.7% · 2,365
- Black or African American17.6% · 598
- Two or more races4.7% · 161
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 138
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.2% · 73
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 59
Gender
Gender distribution for Orin
Out of the 6,214 babies given the name Orin since 1880, 99.7% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Orin as a male name
- Ranked #2,246 in 2024
- 64 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1920 (111 births)
Orin as a female name
- Ranked #16,910 in 2020
- 5 female births in 2020
- Peak: 2012 (6 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Orin leans strongly male. 3,313 people counted with this name were male (97.6%), compared with 81 female bearers (2.4%).
Popularity
Orin: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Orin from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 811 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1920s peak, Orin remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Orin 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 Orin during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Orins live
The SSA's state-level files cover 27 states and territories. California, Wisconsin, New York recorded the most babies named Orin, while Utah, Oregon, Louisiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 43 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Orin
The name Orin traces its origins back to the Celtic languages spoken in ancient Britain and parts of continental Europe. It is derived from the Old Celtic word "oren," which means "green" or "fresh." This likely refers to the lush greenery and natural landscapes of the regions where the name first emerged.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Orin can be found in the ancient Welsh text "Culhwch and Olwen," a legendary tale from the Mabinogion collection. In this story, Orin is mentioned as the name of a knight in the court of King Arthur. This suggests that the name was in use during the early medieval period, around the 5th or 6th century AD.
In the 9th century, an Irish monk and scholar known as Orin of Auxerre made significant contributions to the field of biblical exegesis. He is known for his commentaries on several books of the Old Testament and for his work in preserving and disseminating ancient texts.
During the 12th century, a French nobleman named Orin de Vergy was a prominent figure in the royal court of King Philip II of France. He is mentioned in historical records as a loyal knight and trusted advisor to the king.
In the 15th century, an Italian painter named Orin Longo gained recognition for his frescoes and altarpieces, which adorned churches and palaces throughout northern Italy. His works were heavily influenced by the Renaissance art movement and are now considered among the finest examples of early Renaissance painting.
Another notable figure with the name Orin was a Scottish nobleman, Orin MacGregor, who lived in the 16th century. He played a significant role in the clan disputes and battles that took place during that turbulent period in Scottish history.
These are just a few examples of historical figures who bore the name Orin, illustrating its enduring presence across various cultures and time periods. While the name has remained relatively uncommon compared to others, its rich heritage and connections to ancient traditions have ensured its continued use throughout the centuries.
People
Orin + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Orin 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
Orin: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Orin?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,530 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Orin 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 97,098 US residents.
Is Orin a common name?
We classify Orin as "Rare". It ranks above 95.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6,214 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Orin most popular?
The single biggest year for Orin was 1920, when 111 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Orin is about 38 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Orin in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,394 people with the name Orin, or 1.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,149 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 Orin 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 Orin?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Orin leans strongly male. 3,313 people counted with this name were male (97.6%), compared with 81 female bearers (2.4%). 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 Orin?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Orin is White at 69.7%. The next largest groups are Black (17.6%) and Two or More Races (4.7%). 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 Orin most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Orin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 69.7% (2,365 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 Orin in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Orin a male name?
Yes, 99.7% of people registered as Orin 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 Orin still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Orin 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 Orin 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 called Orin?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.