Boy · #12,230 in 2026

Or

Or is a Hebrew-language name, meaning "light, brilliance". It may be both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include:

  • Hebrew
Current Rank
#12,230
Peak Rank
#10,743 (2016)
Total Babies
37
5-Yr Trend
Stable
2007
First Year
2023
Last Year
2016
Peak Year
#10743
Peak Rank
37
Total Count
7
Years Active

Meaning & Origin of Or

What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.

Or is a Hebrew-language name, meaning "light, brilliance". It may be both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include:

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →

Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)

  • Hebrew

The Story of Or

The earliest SSA record of Or as a baby boy name dates back to 2007, when 5 babies received it. 2016 was its biggest year on record, with 6 newborns named Or — #10,743 in the national rankings. About 43% of every Or on record arrived during the 2020s, its defining decade. Or last appeared in the published SSA data in 2023, with 5 recorded births — it has not charted nationally since. All told, over 37 Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 2000s to the 2020s.

Popularity Over Time

Popularity by State

ME
WA
MT
ND
MN
WI
MI
NY
VT
NH
MA
OR
ID
SD
IA
IL
IN
OH
PA
NJ
CT
RI
CA
NV
WY
NE
MO
KY
WV
VA
MD
DE
DC
UT
CO
KS
AR
TN
NC
SC
AK
AZ
NM
OK
LA
MS
AL
GA
HI
TX
FL
Top 10
11-50
51-100
101-500
500+
No data

Variants & Related Forms of Or

Foreign forms, alternate spellings, and nicknames that share roots with Or. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.

Names that sound like Or

Phonetically similar names — useful when Or is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.

  • Ore
  • Oar
  • Hors
  • Aur
  • Orr
  • Aure
  • Ohr
  • Alr
  • Uor
  • Oare
  • Orh
  • Ohre

Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.

Frequently Asked Questions about Or

What does the name Or mean?
Or is a Hebrew-language name, meaning "light, brilliance". It may be both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include:
What is the origin of the name Or?
Or has roots in the following cultural and linguistic traditions: Hebrew.
How popular is Or in 2026?
In 2026, Or ranks #12,230 among boys' names in the U.S., with 5 babies given the name that year.
When was Or most popular?
Or reached its peak popularity in 2016, ranking #10,743 that year with 6 babies given the name.
Is Or a unisex name?
In U.S. Social Security records, Or is primarily a boy's name. We don't have meaningful data for it as a girl's name.
What names go well with Or?
Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Or include Adeline, Dein, Jakiel. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data.
What are nicknames or variants of Or?
Common variants and related forms of Or include Ora, Orah, Orit. These cover foreign-language equivalents, alternate spellings, and short forms.

About the name Or

Or is a boy baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 2007 and has accumulated 37 births in the dataset. Or's peak popularity came in 2016 when it ranked #10,743. Use the chart and map above to compare Or's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.

Continue exploring

Data sources

  • Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
  • Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
  • Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
  • Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
  • Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .

Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.