2000
#131,366
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Orville
A surname derived from an Old French place name meaning "golden village".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 131 Americans carry the last name Orville. That puts it at #146,495 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,616,445 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Orville 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.
Bearers in the US
131
1 in 2,616,445
Census rank
#146,495
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
114
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 114 bearers of the surname Orville in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 146495th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Orville, the largest self-reported group is White at 70.2%. The next largest groups are Black (21.9%) and Hispanic (6.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Orville
The surname Orville originated in France during the medieval period, deriving its roots from the Old French "orville" or "orval," meaning a fertile valley. This name likely referred to someone who resided in or near such a place. It is thought to have first arisen in the region of Normandy, a historical duchy in northern France.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Orville name can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of England and its inhabitants commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. This reference suggests that individuals bearing this surname had already migrated from France to England by the late 11th century.
During the Middle Ages, the Orville name appeared in various historical records and manuscripts, often spelled in slightly different ways, such as Orvile, Orvill, or Orvyle. These variations likely arose due to regional dialects and the inconsistent nature of medieval record-keeping.
In the 13th century, a notable figure named Robert d'Orville was recorded as a prominent landowner and knight in the county of Lincolnshire, England. Another early bearer of this name was Sir John Orville, who fought alongside King Edward III during the Hundred Years' War in the 14th century.
Moving into the Renaissance period, a French scholar and traveler named Philippe d'Orville gained recognition for his extensive travels throughout Europe and the Middle East in the late 16th century. His detailed accounts of his journeys provided valuable insights into the cultures and societies of that era.
In the 18th century, a Dutch philologist and classical scholar named Jacques Philippe d'Orville (1696-1751) made significant contributions to the study of ancient Greek and Latin texts, publishing several influential works on the subject.
Another notable individual was Wilbur Orville Wright (1867-1912), one of the two Wright brothers who are credited with inventing, building, and flying the world's first successful motor-operated airplane in 1903, ushering in the era of modern aviation.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Orville
Among Census respondents with the surname Orville, the largest self-reported group is White at 70.2%. The next largest groups are Black (21.9%) and Hispanic (6.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Orville 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 Orville surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White70.2% · 80
- Black or African American21.9% · 25
- Hispanic or Latino6.1% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Orville
Orville 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
#134,712
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 125
+6 bearers (+5.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 3,346 places
2020
#146,495
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
-11 bearers (-8.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 11,783 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #131,366 | 119 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #134,712 | 125 | 0.04 | +6 bearers (+5.0%) | Down 3,346 places |
| 2020 | #146,495 | 114 | 0.04 | -11 bearers (-8.8%) | Down 11,783 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 Orville 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 | #134,712 | #146,495 | -8.7% |
| Count | 125 | 114 | -8.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -4.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Orville bearers went from 125 to 114 (-8.8% change). The surname moved down 11,783 positions in the national ranking, going from #134,712 to #146,495.
FAQ
Orville surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Orville?
Name Census estimates that about 131 living Americans carry the surname Orville. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,616,445 residents.
How common is Orville?
Orville ranks #146,495 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 114 people with the surname Orville. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (131), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Orville.
Has Orville become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Orville went from 125 recorded bearers to 114. That is a decrease of 11 (-8.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #134,712 to #146,495.
What does the Census say about the background of Orville?
Among Census respondents with the surname Orville, the largest self-reported group is White at 70.2%. The next largest groups are Black (21.9%) and Hispanic (6.1%). 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 Orville in the 2020 Census, accounting for 70.2% (80 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Orville appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (70.2%), Black (21.9%), Hispanic (6.1%). 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 Orville (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 Orville mean?
A surname derived from an Old French place name meaning "golden village". 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 Orville (0.04 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 common is the surname Orville?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans have the surname Orville at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.