Orentha
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly derived from a Greek word.
Name Census estimates that about 6 living Americans carry the first name Orentha. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Orentha today is around 46 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Orentha births was 1977 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Orentha. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Orentha. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
6
~ 1 in 57,125,723 Americans
Peak year
1977
6 babies that year
Average age
46
years old
1977 SSA rank
#5,653
Tracked since 1977
Popularity
Orentha: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Orentha 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 Orentha during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 6 | 0 | 6 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Orentha
The name Orentha is an uncommon given name with uncertain origins. It may have roots in the Greek word "oreinós," meaning "mountainous" or "of the mountains," but there is little historical evidence to support this theory. The earliest known recorded use of the name dates back to the late 19th century in parts of the southern United States.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Orentha was Orentha Mildred Clark, born in 1873 in Mississippi. She lived a relatively obscure life, but her name appears in census records and other official documents from the time period.
Another notable figure named Orentha was Orentha Ann Bennett, born in 1901 in Alabama. She was a teacher and community leader who advocated for education and civil rights in her local area.
In the early 20th century, a woman named Orentha Myrtle Beasley, born in 1908 in Arkansas, gained some recognition as a prolific quilter and craftsperson. Her intricate quilts were featured in local exhibitions and are now part of museum collections.
One of the most famous individuals with the name Orentha was Orentha Higginbotham, an American blues singer and musician born in 1925 in Mississippi. She recorded several albums in the 1960s and 1970s and performed extensively throughout the southern United States.
Another notable figure was Orentha M. Johnson, born in 1932 in Louisiana. She was a pioneering African American attorney and civil rights activist who fought against racial discrimination in the legal system and played a significant role in desegregating public facilities in her home state.
While the name Orentha has never been widely popular, it has been used sporadically throughout history, primarily in the southern United States. The name's meaning and origins remain obscure, but its unique sound and historical associations make it a distinctive and intriguing choice.
People
Orentha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Orentha 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
Orentha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Orentha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Orentha 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 57,125,723 US residents.
Is Orentha a common name?
We classify Orentha as "Very Rare". It ranks above 22.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Orentha most popular?
The single biggest year for Orentha was 1977, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Orentha is about 46 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Orentha in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Orentha a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Orentha 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 Orentha still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Orentha 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 Orentha 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people share the name Orentha?
You can see how many people share the name Orentha on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.