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

Orr, 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 Orr surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Orr in America

Orr is the 774th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Orr surname appeared 44,388 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 15 people would have the surname Orr.

We can also compare 2010 data for Orr 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 Orr

The surname Orr is of Scottish origin, derived from the Old Norse word 'aurr', meaning 'gravel bank' or 'gravelly ground'. It is believed to have originated as a toponymic surname, referring to someone who lived near a gravel bank or on gravelly ground.

The earliest recorded instances of the surname Orr can be traced back to the 13th century in Scotland. One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Adam Ore, who was mentioned in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a historical record of Scottish landowners who swore fealty to King Edward I of England.

In the 16th century, the surname Orr was found in various parts of Scotland, particularly in the counties of Ayrshire, Renfrewshire, and Lanarkshire. The name was also associated with the island of Orr (sometimes spelled Ore), located in the Firth of Clyde off the coast of Ayrshire.

Notable historical figures bearing the surname Orr include Robert Orr (c. 1675-1711), a Scottish Presbyterian minister and philosopher, and Sir Andrew Orr (1806-1892), a Scottish businessman and philanthropist who founded the Orr Ewing & Co. textile manufacturing company in Glasgow.

In the 17th century, the surname Orr was also found in the Ulster Plantation in Ireland, where many Scottish settlers established themselves. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name in Ireland was that of John Orr, who was granted land in County Antrim in 1610.

Other notable individuals with the surname Orr include James Orr (1844-1913), a Canadian politician and businessman; Sir John Boyd Orr (1880-1971), a Scottish biologist and nutritionist who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1949; and Mary Orr (1914-2008), an American film actress known for her roles in several popular films in the 1930s.

The surname Orr has also been found in various spellings over the centuries, including Ore, Oure, and Orre, reflecting the variations in pronunciation and spelling conventions in different regions and time periods.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Orr

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

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 Orr 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 Orr 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 Orr was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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