Orva
An obscure masculine name derived from the French name Orvan.
Name Census estimates that about 58 living Americans carry the first name Orva. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 82.9% of registrations being female. The average person named Orva today is around 83 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Orva births was 1916 (29 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Orva. 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 Orva is about 83 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Orvas were born before 1953.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Orva. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
58
~ 1 in 5,909,558 Americans
Peak year
1916
29 babies that year
Average age
83
years old
1967 SSA rank
#4,389
Tracked since 1882
Census
Orva in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 227 people with the first name Orva, which placed it at #35,437 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
#35,437
National first-name rank
People counted
227
227 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
89.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Orva
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Orva is White at 89.4%. The next largest groups are Black (5.3%) and Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Orva 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 Orva at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.4% · 203
- Black or African American5.3% · 12
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 6
- Two or more races1.8% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Orva
Orva leans heavily female at 82.9% of total registrations, but 105 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Orva as a male name
- Ranked #4,389 in 1967
- 5 male births in 1967
- Peak: 1916 (10 births)
Orva as a female name
- Ranked #7,312 in 1966
- 5 female births in 1966
- Peak: 1919 (23 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Orva on both sides of the split. Of the 227 people counted with this name, 105 were male (46.3%) and 122 were female (53.7%).
Popularity
Orva: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Orva from the 1880s through to the 1960s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 185 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
Orva 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 Orva during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Orvas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Orva
The name Orva is believed to have its origins in the ancient Germanic languages, dating back to the early medieval period. It is derived from the Old Norse word "ǫrr," meaning "arrow" or "projectile," and is thought to have been a name given to warriors or skilled archers.
In the Old Norse sagas and Icelandic legends, there are references to characters bearing the name Orva, often depicted as brave and valiant warriors. One notable example is Orva the Archer, a legendary figure known for his exceptional skill with the bow and arrow.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Orva can be traced back to the 9th and 10th centuries in Scandinavia, particularly in areas now part of Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. It was a popular name among the Vikings and was often given to newborn sons as a symbol of strength and valor.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Orva. One of the earliest was Orva of Trondhjem (c. 950 - 1020), a Norwegian chieftain and warrior who played a significant role in the battles against the Danish king Sweyn Forkbeard.
Another prominent figure was Orva the Skald (c. 1050 - 1120), an Icelandic poet and storyteller renowned for his skillful recitation of ancient sagas and epic tales. His works were highly influential in preserving the rich oral tradition of the Norse culture.
In the 12th century, there was Orva the Merchant (c. 1120 - 1190), a wealthy trader from the city of Bergen, Norway, who established trade routes throughout the Baltic region and amassed a substantial fortune.
During the 13th century, Orva the Navigator (c. 1220 - 1290) was a renowned explorer and sailor from the Faroe Islands. He was credited with discovering new trade routes and establishing settlements in Greenland and parts of North America.
Lastly, in the 15th century, there was Orva the Blacksmith (c. 1430 - 1490), a skilled craftsman from Sweden known for his intricate metal works and innovative techniques in forging weapons and armor.
While the name Orva has its roots in the ancient Germanic cultures, it has since been adopted and adapted by various other cultures and languages over the centuries, with variations in spelling and pronunciation.
People
Orva + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Orva 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
Orva: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Orva?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 58 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Orva 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 5,909,558 US residents.
Is Orva a common name?
We classify Orva as "Very Rare". It ranks above 56.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 613 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Orva most popular?
The single biggest year for Orva was 1916, when 29 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Orva is about 83 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Orva in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 227 people with the name Orva, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #35,437 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 Orva 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 Orva?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Orva on both sides of the split. Of the 227 people counted with this name, 105 were male (46.3%) and 122 were female (53.7%). 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 Orva?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Orva is White at 89.4%. The next largest groups are Black (5.3%) and Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Orva most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Orva in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.4% (203 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 Orva in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Orva a female name?
Yes, 82.9% of people registered as Orva in the SSA data are female. 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 Orva still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Orva 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 Orva 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 Americans are named Orva?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.