2000
#113,519
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 143
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Orde
A habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "ridge".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 119 Americans carry the last name Orde. That puts it at #153,590 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,880,289 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Orde surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Orde with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
119
1 in 2,880,289
Census rank
#153,590
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
104
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 104 bearers of the surname Orde in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 153590th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Orde, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (1.9%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Orde
The surname ORDE is of Anglo-Saxon origin and can be traced back to the regions of Northumberland and County Durham in northern England. It is believed to have derived from the Old English word "ord," which means "point" or "spearhead," suggesting that the name may have originally referred to someone who lived near a promontory or a pointed hill.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the ORDE surname can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Northumberland in 1199, where it appears as "de Orde." This spelling variation suggests that the name may have initially been a locational surname, referring to someone from a specific place called Orde.
In the 13th century, the ORDE family held lands and estates in Northumberland, particularly in the area around Felton and Wooler. Sir Robert de Orde, born around 1250, was a prominent member of the family during this period and served as a knight under King Edward I.
The ORDE surname is also mentioned in the Bain's Calendar of Documents Relating to Scotland, a collection of historical records from the 13th and 14th centuries. This suggests that the family may have had connections or holdings in Scotland as well.
One of the notable members of the ORDE family was Thomas Orde, born around 1548 in Northumberland. He was a merchant and served as the Mayor of Newcastle upon Tyne in 1593. His son, Sir Thomas Orde, was knighted in 1619 and became a Member of Parliament for Newcastle.
Another prominent figure was Sir John Orde, born in 1689 in Northumberland. He was a naval officer and served as the Governor of Virginia from 1768 to 1771. His son, Sir John Orde, also had a distinguished military career and served as a British Army officer during the American Revolutionary War.
In the 18th century, the ORDE family established themselves in County Down, Ireland, where they held the estate of Westbrooke. Sir John Orde, born in 1751, was a member of the Irish Parliament and served as the Lord Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer.
The ORDE surname can also be found in various place names, such as Orde Hill in Northumberland and Orde Burn, a stream that flows through the village of Felton in Northumberland. These place names further reinforce the connection between the surname and the geographic locations associated with the family's origins.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Orde
Among Census respondents with the surname Orde, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (1.9%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Orde bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Orde surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White96.2% · 100
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 2
- Two or more races1.9% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Orde
Orde appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#132,206
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 128
-15 bearers (-10.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 18,687 places
2020
#153,590
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
-24 bearers (-18.8%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 21,384 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #113,519 | 143 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #132,206 | 128 | 0.04 | -15 bearers (-10.5%) | Down 18,687 places |
| 2020 | #153,590 | 104 | 0.03 | -24 bearers (-18.8%) | Down 21,384 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Orde surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #132,206 | #153,590 | -16.2% |
| Count | 128 | 104 | -18.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -13.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Orde bearers went from 128 to 104 (-18.8% change). The surname moved down 21,384 positions in the national ranking, going from #132,206 to #153,590.
FAQ
Orde surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Orde?
Name Census estimates that about 119 living Americans carry the surname Orde. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,880,289 residents.
How common is Orde?
Orde ranks #153,590 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 104 people with the surname Orde. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (119), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Orde.
Has Orde become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Orde went from 128 recorded bearers to 104. That is a decrease of 24 (-18.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #132,206 to #153,590.
What does the Census say about the background of Orde?
Among Census respondents with the surname Orde, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (1.9%) and Two or More Races (1.9%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Orde in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.2% (100 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Orde appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (96.2%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.9%), Two or More Races (1.9%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Orde (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Orde mean?
A habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "ridge". The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Orde (0.03 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many Americans have the surname Orde?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.