Orlin
A name of Slavic origin meaning "young eagle" or "little eagle".
Name Census estimates that about 724 living Americans carry the first name Orlin. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Orlin today is around 43 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Orlin births was 1932 (48 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Orlin. 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.
People living today
724
~ 1 in 473,418 Americans
Peak year
1932
48 babies that year
Average age
43
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,277
Tracked since 1908
Popularity
Orlin: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Orlin from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 360 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
Orlin 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 Orlin during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Orlins live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. Minnesota, Wisconsin, Texas recorded the most babies named Orlin, while Kansas, South Dakota, North Dakota recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 34 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Orlin
The name Orlin is of Slavic origin, derived from the Bulgarian and Macedonian word "орел" (orel), meaning "eagle." It is believed to have emerged in the region of present-day Bulgaria and Macedonia during the Middle Ages.
The name is thought to have been inspired by the majestic and powerful eagle, a symbol of strength, courage, and freedom in Slavic cultures. It was likely given to newborn boys with the hope that they would grow up to embody these qualities.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Orlin can be found in the 14th-century Bulgarian epic poem "The Marvellous Deeds of the Prince of Bulgaria Shishman." In this work, Orlin is mentioned as one of the warriors in the army of Tsar Ivan Shishman, the ruler of the Second Bulgarian Empire.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Orlin. One of the most famous was Orlin Gragev (1889-1972), a Bulgarian composer and conductor who made significant contributions to the development of Bulgarian classical music.
Another prominent figure was Orlin Stanchev (1908-1983), a Bulgarian politician who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria from 1962 to 1971 and played a crucial role in shaping the country's foreign policy during the Cold War era.
In the world of literature, Orlin Vasilev (1904-1977) was a celebrated Bulgarian writer and poet, known for his works that explored themes of love, nature, and the human condition.
In the realm of sports, Orlin Norvatov (1946-2003) was a Bulgarian wrestler who won a gold medal in the heavyweight category at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich.
Beyond Bulgaria, the name Orlin has also been used in other Slavic countries, albeit less frequently. For instance, Orlin Kruševac (born 1932) is a Serbian architect and urban planner who has made significant contributions to the design and development of cities in Serbia and the former Yugoslavia.
People
Orlin + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Orlin 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
Orlin: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Orlin?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 724 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Orlin 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 473,418 US residents.
Is Orlin a common name?
We classify Orlin as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,660 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Orlin most popular?
The single biggest year for Orlin was 1932, when 48 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Orlin is about 43 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Orlin a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Orlin 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.
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.