Find out how popular the last name Orange is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Orange.

Orange, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Orange surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Orange in America

Orange is the 7629th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Orange surname appeared 4,350 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Orange.

We can also compare 2010 data for Orange to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Orange

The surname Orange is believed to have originated in England, though its precise roots can be traced back to the early Middle Ages. It is thought to have derived from the Old French word "orenge," which referred to the orange fruit or its distinctive bright color. This name may have been used as a descriptive surname for someone with reddish or orange-colored hair or complexion.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Orange can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which documented landowners and tenants in England following the Norman Conquest. The name appears as "de Orenge," indicating that it may have originally been a locative surname referring to a place associated with oranges or orange-colored objects.

During the 12th and 13th centuries, the surname Orange began to appear more frequently in various English records and documents. Notable bearers of the name from this period include Sir John Orange (c. 1220-1292), a knight and landowner in Wiltshire, and Sir William Orange (c. 1250-1310), a prominent figure in the Court of King Edward I.

As the surname spread throughout England, it also evolved into various spelling variations, such as Orenge, Oranges, and Oranger. Some of these variations may have been influenced by the French language or by regional dialects and pronunciations.

In the 16th century, the Orange surname gained further prominence with the rise of the House of Orange-Nassau, a prestigious Dutch noble family. One of the most famous members of this family was William I, Prince of Orange (1533-1584), who played a pivotal role in the Dutch Revolt against Spanish rule and is considered a founding father of the Netherlands.

Other notable individuals with the surname Orange throughout history include:

1. Henry Orange (c. 1580-1652), an English philosopher and theologian known for his writings on metaphysics and ethics.
2. Mary Orange (c. 1630-1685), an English Quaker and one of the earliest female preachers in the Quaker movement.
3. Thomas Orange (c. 1780-1838), a British naval officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars and later became an explorer and cartographer.
4. Elizabeth Orange (c. 1820-1892), an American educator and advocate for women's rights, who founded one of the first colleges for women in the United States.
5. Albert Orange (1876-1945), a British artist and illustrator known for his landscape paintings and illustrations for children's books.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Orange

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Orange.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Orange was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Orange has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Orange was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Orange, please contact us.

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