2000
#714
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 43,666
First available Census row
Per 100,000 16.19
Uncommon Last name
Orr
A toponymic surname derived from the Old Norse word for "arrow" or referring to someone who lived on a shoreline.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 48,774 Americans carry the last name Orr. That puts it at #795 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 14.23 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 7,027 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Orr surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Orr with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
49K
1 in 7,027
Census rank
#795
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
14.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
43K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 42,533 bearers of the surname Orr in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 14.23 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 795th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Orr, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.4%. The next largest groups are Black (14.7%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Orr
The surname Orr is of Scottish origin, derived from the Old Norse word 'aurr', meaning 'gravel bank' or 'gravelly ground'. It is believed to have originated as a toponymic surname, referring to someone who lived near a gravel bank or on gravelly ground.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname Orr can be traced back to the 13th century in Scotland. One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Adam Ore, who was mentioned in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a historical record of Scottish landowners who swore fealty to King Edward I of England.
In the 16th century, the surname Orr was found in various parts of Scotland, particularly in the counties of Ayrshire, Renfrewshire, and Lanarkshire. The name was also associated with the island of Orr (sometimes spelled Ore), located in the Firth of Clyde off the coast of Ayrshire.
Notable historical figures bearing the surname Orr include Robert Orr (c. 1675-1711), a Scottish Presbyterian minister and philosopher, and Sir Andrew Orr (1806-1892), a Scottish businessman and philanthropist who founded the Orr Ewing & Co. textile manufacturing company in Glasgow.
In the 17th century, the surname Orr was also found in the Ulster Plantation in Ireland, where many Scottish settlers established themselves. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name in Ireland was that of John Orr, who was granted land in County Antrim in 1610.
Other notable individuals with the surname Orr include James Orr (1844-1913), a Canadian politician and businessman; Sir John Boyd Orr (1880-1971), a Scottish biologist and nutritionist who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1949; and Mary Orr (1914-2008), an American film actress known for her roles in several popular films in the 1930s.
The surname Orr has also been found in various spellings over the centuries, including Ore, Oure, and Orre, reflecting the variations in pronunciation and spelling conventions in different regions and time periods.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Orr
Among Census respondents with the surname Orr, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.4%. The next largest groups are Black (14.7%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Orr bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Orr surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White76.4% · 32,500
- Black or African American14.7% · 6,254
- Two or more races4.2% · 1,785
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 1,397
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 322
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 275
Timeline
Historical Census data for Orr
Orr appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#774
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 44,388
+722 bearers (+1.7%)
Per 100,000 15.05
Rank movement Down 60 places
2020
#795
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 42,533
-1,855 bearers (-4.2%)
Per 100,000 14.23
Rank movement Down 21 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #714 | 43,666 | 16.19 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #774 | 44,388 | 15.05 | +722 bearers (+1.7%) | Down 60 places |
| 2020 | #795 | 42,533 | 14.23 | -1,855 bearers (-4.2%) | Down 21 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Orr surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #774 | #795 | -2.7% |
| Count | 44,388 | 42,533 | -4.2% |
| Per 100K | 15.05 | 14.23 | -5.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Orr bearers went from 44,388 to 42,533 (-4.2% change). The surname moved down 21 positions in the national ranking, going from #774 to #795.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Orr
FAQ
Orr surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Orr?
Name Census estimates that about 48,774 living Americans carry the surname Orr. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 7,027 residents.
How common is Orr?
Orr ranks #795 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 14.23 per 100,000 residents, which is about 14 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 42,533 people with the surname Orr. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (48,774), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 14.23 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 14.23 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 14 of them to have the surname Orr.
Has Orr become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Orr went from 44,388 recorded bearers to 42,533. That is a decrease of 1,855 (-4.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #774 to #795.
What does the Census say about the background of Orr?
Among Census respondents with the surname Orr, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.4%. The next largest groups are Black (14.7%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Orr in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.4% (32,500 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Orr appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (76.4%), Black (14.7%), Two or More Races (4.2%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Orr (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Orr mean?
A toponymic surname derived from the Old Norse word for "arrow" or referring to someone who lived on a shoreline. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Orr (14.23 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Orr?
You can see how common the surname Orr is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.