Orfelinda
A feminine name of uncertain origin possibly meaning "golden soul".
Name Census estimates that about 25 living Americans carry the first name Orfelinda. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Orfelinda today is around 60 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Orfelinda births was 1971 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Orfelinda. 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 Orfelinda. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
25
~ 1 in 13,710,174 Americans
Peak year
1971
7 babies that year
Average age
60
years old
1971 SSA rank
#7,142
Tracked since 1955
Census
Orfelinda in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 373 people with the first name Orfelinda, which placed it at #25,428 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
#25,428
National first-name rank
People counted
373
373 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
98.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Orfelinda
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Orfelinda is Hispanic at 98.7%. The next largest groups are White (0.8%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.5%). 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 Orfelinda 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 Orfelinda at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino98.7% · 368
- White0.8% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 2
Popularity
Orfelinda: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Orfelinda from the 1950s through to the 1970s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 13 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Orfelinda 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 Orfelinda during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Orfelindas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Orfelinda
The name Orfelinda has its origins in the Spanish language. It is a combination of the Latin words "orphanus" meaning "orphan" and "linda" which translates to "beautiful" or "lovely" in Spanish. This unique name was likely given to orphaned children in Spanish-speaking regions, perhaps as a way to bestow a sense of beauty and hope upon them.
Historically, the name Orfelinda can be traced back to the 16th century in Spain and the Spanish colonies of the Americas. It was during this time period that the name's usage became more widespread, particularly among the upper classes of Spanish society.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Orfelinda appears in a 17th-century Spanish play titled "La Vida es Sueño" (Life is a Dream) by the renowned playwright Pedro Calderón de la Barca. In the play, Orfelinda is the name given to a princess, highlighting the name's association with nobility and beauty.
Throughout the centuries, several notable individuals have borne the name Orfelinda. One such person was Orfelinda Rodríguez de Castro (1845-1923), a Cuban writer and educator who played a significant role in the development of literature and education in her home country.
Another notable Orfelinda was Orfelinda Martínez (1891-1980), a Mexican painter and sculptor who was part of the Mexican Muralist Movement. Her vibrant works depicting indigenous Mexican themes and culture earned her recognition both in Mexico and abroad.
In the realm of music, Orfelinda Montilla (1902-1995) was a renowned Venezuelan singer and composer. Her contributions to the traditional music genre known as "tonada" helped preserve and promote Venezuelan cultural heritage.
Orfelinda Pérez (1916-2002) was a prominent Peruvian ceramist whose works were deeply influenced by pre-Columbian art. Her unique and intricate ceramic pieces were exhibited in galleries and museums around the world, solidifying her reputation as a master of her craft.
Lastly, Orfelinda Aguirre (1922-2011) was a Chilean writer and journalist who played a significant role in promoting women's rights and gender equality through her literary works and activism.
While the name Orfelinda may not be as common today as it once was, its historical significance and unique blend of Latin roots make it a remarkable and beautiful name that has left an indelible mark on various cultures and artistic movements throughout history.
People
Orfelinda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Orfelinda 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
Orfelinda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Orfelinda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 25 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Orfelinda 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 13,710,174 US residents.
Is Orfelinda a common name?
We classify Orfelinda as "Very Rare". It ranks above 43.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 30 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Orfelinda most popular?
The single biggest year for Orfelinda was 1971, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Orfelinda is about 60 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Orfelinda in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 373 people with the name Orfelinda, or 0.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #25,428 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 Orfelinda 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 Orfelinda?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Orfelinda appears almost entirely female. Of the 372 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Orfelinda?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Orfelinda is Hispanic at 98.7%. The next largest groups are White (0.8%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.5%). 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 Orfelinda most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Orfelinda in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.7% (368 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 Orfelinda in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Orfelinda a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Orfelinda 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 Orfelinda still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Orfelinda 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 Orfelinda 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 have the name Orfelinda?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.