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

Orvis, 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 Orvis surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Orvis in America

Orvis is the 16349th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Orvis surname appeared 1,762 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 Orvis.

We can also compare 2010 data for Orvis 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 Orvis

The surname Orvis is believed to be of Anglo-Saxon origin, deriving from the Old English word "ora" meaning "shore" or "bank." It likely originated in England during the medieval period, potentially referring to someone who lived near the bank of a river or stream.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which documented landowners in England after the Norman Conquest. An entry for a person named "Oruiz" is listed as holding lands in Oxfordshire.

The name underwent various spelling variations over the centuries, including Orvys, Orvis, Orveis, and Orvace. These variations were likely influenced by regional dialects and the interpretation of the scribes recording the name.

Notable individuals with the surname Orvis include:

1. Thomas Orvis (c. 1600-1685), an early settler in the Massachusetts Bay Colony who arrived from England in the 1630s.

2. James Orvis (1758-1842), an American Revolutionary War soldier from Connecticut.

3. Charles F. Orvis (1824-1896), a pioneering American fly fisherman and entrepreneur who founded the Orvis Company in 1856, a renowned retailer of fishing equipment and outdoor apparel.

4. William Orvis (1863-1939), son of Charles F. Orvis and president of the Orvis Company from 1896 to 1939.

5. Mary Orvis Marbury (1838-1935), an American suffragist and pioneer in the women's rights movement.

The name Orvis was also associated with several place names in England, such as Orvis Green in Kent and Orvis Hill in Wiltshire, further indicating the name's early roots in the British Isles.

While the surname's origins can be traced back to medieval England, it has since spread to other parts of the world, particularly through immigration to North America and other English-speaking countries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Orvis

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!