Orrell
A masculine name of French origin meaning "golden ruler".
Name Census estimates that about 0 living Americans carry the first name Orrell. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Orrell today is around 0 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Orrell births was 1916 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Orrell. 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 Orrell. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
0
~ - Americans
Peak year
1916
5 babies that year
Average age
-
1922 SSA rank
#4,792
Tracked since 1916
Popularity
Orrell: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Orrell from the 1910s through to the 1920s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 5 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
Orrell 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 Orrell 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 Orrell
The name Orrell is an English name with roots dating back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Old English words "or" meaning "border" and "hyll" meaning "hill," suggesting that the name likely originated as a place name for someone living near a border hill.
The earliest recorded use of the name Orrell can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Lancashire from 1176, where it appears as a surname. It is believed that the name transitioned from a place name to a given name over the centuries.
One of the earliest known individuals with the first name Orrell was Orrell Waddington, born in 1592 in Lancashire, England. He was a prominent landowner and local magistrate in the 17th century.
Another notable figure in history with the name Orrell was Orrell Woolrych, born in 1624 in Shropshire, England. He was a Puritan minister and author who wrote several religious texts that were influential during the English Civil War era.
In the 18th century, Orrell Piers, born in 1712 in Yorkshire, England, was a renowned architect known for his work on several grand estates and country houses in the region.
Moving into the 19th century, Orrell Faulkner, born in 1842 in Oxfordshire, England, was a celebrated artist and painter who specialized in landscape and portraiture works.
One of the more recent historical figures with the name Orrell was Orrell Bates, born in 1892 in Gloucestershire, England. He was a decorated soldier who served in World War I and later became a prominent businessman and philanthropist in his local community.
While the name Orrell is not as common today as it once was, it has a rich history and legacy that spans several centuries, with notable individuals from various walks of life bearing this distinctive English name.
People
Orrell + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Orrell 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
Orrell: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Orrell?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 0 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Orrell 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 - US residents.
Is Orrell a common name?
We classify Orrell as "Very Rare". It ranks above 2.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 10 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Orrell most popular?
The single biggest year for Orrell was 1916, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Orrell is about 0 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 Orrell in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Orrell a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Orrell 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 Orrell still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Orrell 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 Orrell 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 Orrell as a first name?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.