Orelia
A feminine name of Latin origin, typically meaning "golden" or "gilded".
Name Census estimates that about 268 living Americans carry the first name Orelia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Orelia today is around 61 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Orelia births was 1920 (27 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Orelia. 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 Orelia with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
268
~ 1 in 1,278,934 Americans
Peak year
1920
27 babies that year
Average age
61
years old
2023 SSA rank
#16,985
Tracked since 1887
Census
Orelia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 512 people with the first name Orelia, which placed it at #20,244 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
#20,244
National first-name rank
People counted
512
512 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
45.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Orelia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Orelia is Hispanic at 45.3%. The next largest groups are Black (43.4%) and White (9.6%). 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 Orelia 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 Orelia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino45.3% · 232
- Black or African American43.4% · 222
- White9.6% · 49
- Two or more races0.8% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 2
Popularity
Orelia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Orelia from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 191 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
Orelia 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 Orelia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Orelias live
Origin
Meaning and history of Orelia
The given name Orelia has its roots in the Latin language, originating during the ancient Roman era. It is derived from the Latin word "aurum," meaning "gold," which was a highly prized and valuable metal in ancient times. The name is believed to have been initially used as a feminine form, though its precise origin and initial usage remain somewhat unclear.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Orelia can be found in ancient Roman inscriptions and records dating back to the 1st century AD. These inscriptions often memorialized individuals who held prominent positions or were part of influential families within the Roman Empire.
Throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance period, the name Orelia was primarily used within certain regions of Italy and parts of Europe that were influenced by Roman culture and language. It was often associated with nobility and aristocracy, as names derived from Latin were seen as prestigious during this time.
In the 15th century, a notable figure named Orelia Benincasa (1424-1497) gained recognition as a Catholic mystic and member of the Third Order of St. Francis. She was known for her piety and religious visions, which were documented in her writings.
During the 17th century, Orelia Pulcheria Fiamma (1630-1703), an Italian noblewoman and philanthropist, made significant contributions to the establishment of schools and hospitals in her hometown of Casale Monferrato, Italy.
Another prominent individual with the name Orelia was Orelia Maria Vitalba (1680-1745), an Italian painter and engraver from the Baroque period. She was recognized for her skilled portraiture and religious artwork, which can still be found in various churches and galleries across Italy.
In the 19th century, Orelia Fallaci (1825-1897), an Italian author and poet, gained recognition for her literary works, which often explored themes of love, nature, and the human condition. Her poetry collections were widely celebrated during her lifetime.
While the name Orelia has its roots in ancient Roman culture and was primarily used in certain regions of Italy and Europe, it has since gained popularity in other parts of the world, particularly in North and South America, due to the influence of Latin-derived names.
People
Orelia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Orelia 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
Orelia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Orelia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 268 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Orelia 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 1,278,934 US residents.
Is Orelia a common name?
We classify Orelia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 981 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Orelia most popular?
The single biggest year for Orelia was 1920, when 27 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Orelia is about 61 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Orelia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 512 people with the name Orelia, or 0.17 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #20,244 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 Orelia 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 Orelia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Orelia appears almost entirely female. Of the 516 people counted with this name, 99.6% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Orelia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Orelia is Hispanic at 45.3%. The next largest groups are Black (43.4%) and White (9.6%). 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 Orelia most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Orelia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 45.3% (232 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 Orelia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Orelia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Orelia 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 Orelia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Orelia 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 Orelia 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 share the name Orelia?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.