Orran
Celtic origin, meaning "little green one" or "green warrior".
Name Census estimates that about 10 living Americans carry the first name Orran. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Orran today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Orran births was 1924 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Orran. 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 Orran with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Orran. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
10
~ 1 in 34,275,434 Americans
Peak year
1924
5 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2009 SSA rank
#13,938
Tracked since 1924
Popularity
Orran: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Orran from the 1920s through to the 2000s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 10 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
Orran 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 Orran during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Orran
The name Orran is believed to have originated from the Gaelic language, which is an ancient Celtic language spoken in parts of Scotland, Ireland, and the Isle of Man. Its roots can be traced back to the early medieval period, around the 5th to 10th centuries AD.
One theory suggests that Orran is derived from the Gaelic word "oráin," which means "little pale one" or "little green one." This could be a reference to someone with fair or pale complexion or someone associated with nature and greenery. Another possibility is that it is a variation of the name "Oran," which means "little song" or "little poem" in Gaelic.
While its exact origins are unclear, the name Orran has been documented in various historical records and ancient texts from the region. One notable mention is in the Annals of Ulster, a chronicle of medieval Irish history, where an individual named "Orran" is referenced in the 9th century AD.
The earliest recorded bearer of the name Orran was Saint Orran, an Irish missionary and hermit who lived in the 6th century AD. He is revered as the patron saint of Colonsay, an island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Another early figure with this name was Orran, a 9th-century Irish scribe and monk known for his work in transcribing and preserving ancient manuscripts.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals named Orran. One prominent example is Orran, the 11th-century King of Denmark, who ruled from 1095 to 1103 AD. Another was Orran of Shetland, a 12th-century Scottish nobleman and one of the earliest documented settlers of the Shetland Islands.
In the 14th century, there was Orran the Bard, a renowned Scottish poet and storyteller whose works contributed to the preservation of Gaelic culture and traditions. During the 16th century, Orran O'Rourke was an influential Irish chieftain and leader of the O'Rourke clan in County Leitrim, Ireland.
Fast-forwarding to more recent times, Orran Browne was a 19th-century Irish landscape painter known for his depictions of the Irish countryside. In the 20th century, Orran Marin was a prominent French artist and sculptor, best known for his abstract metal sculptures and public art installations.
People
Orran + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Orran 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
Orran: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Orran?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 10 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Orran 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 34,275,434 US residents.
Is Orran a common name?
We classify Orran as "Very Rare". It ranks above 28.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 15 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Orran most popular?
The single biggest year for Orran was 1924, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Orran is about 22 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 Orran in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Orran a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Orran 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 Orran still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Orran 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 Orran 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 have Orran as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.