# Orson (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/orson/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | not recorded |
| Meaning | not recorded |
| Pronunciation | /ˈɔɹsən/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 2,714 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 2,714 / 0 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 1,427, 1996 to 2025 |

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 34 | 3,287 |
| 2012 | 31 | 3,506 |
| 2013 | 42 | 2,796 |
| 2014 | 53 | 2,420 |
| 2015 | 66 | 2,126 |
| 2016 | 90 | 1,735 |
| 2017 | 73 | 1,968 |
| 2018 | 63 | 2,202 |
| 2019 | 105 | 1,589 |
| 2020 | 104 | 1,573 |
| 2021 | 98 | 1,684 |
| 2022 | 127 | 1,437 |
| 2023 | 132 | 1,400 |
| 2024 | 121 | 1,492 |
| 2025 | 126 | 1,433 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 39 | 781 |
| 2012 | 56 | 625 |
| 2013 | 45 | 720 |
| 2014 | 63 | 566 |
| 2015 | 85 | 472 |
| 2016 | 60 | 597 |
| 2017 | 79 | 501 |
| 2018 | 71 | 541 |
| 2019 | 82 | 487 |
| 2020 | 100 | 406 |
| 2021 | 119 | 375 |
| 2022 | 101 | 417 |
| 2023 | 106 | 381 |
| 2024 | 115 | 374 |
| 2025 | 109 | 379 |

## People named Orson

- Orson Welles, American actor and filmmaker (1915–1985)
- Orson Scott Card, American science fiction novelist (born 1951)
- Orson Bean, American actor (1928–2020)
- Orson Pratt, Apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (1811–1881)
- Orson Hyde, American Mormon leader (1805-1878)
- Orson K. Miller Jr., American botanist (1930-2006)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.