Boy · #6,695 in 2026

Orville

Orville is a masculine given name created for a character in the novel Evelina by Frances Burney. Meaning golden town or golden settlement. It may refer to:

Current Rank
#6,695
Peak Rank
#119 (1920)
Total Babies
35K
5-Yr Trend
-19%
1914
First Year
1934
Last Year
1921
Peak Year
#2762
Peak Rank
155
Total Count
19
Years Active

Meaning & Origin of Orville

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

Orville is a masculine given name created for a character in the novel Evelina by Frances Burney. Meaning golden town or golden settlement. It may refer to:

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

The Story of Orville

Orville first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby boy name in 1880, with 49 babies given the name that year. Its peak popularity came in 1920, when 1,195 Orvilles were born — ranking #134 that year. As of 2026, Orville ranks #6,695 for baby boys with 12 births, falling sharply (-19%). In total, more than 35K Orvilles have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 1880s through the 2020s.

Popularity Over Time

Popularity by State

ME
WA
MT
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WI
MI
NY
VT
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MA
OR
ID
SD
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IL
IN
OH
PA
NJ
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RI
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MD
DE
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Top 10
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500+
No data

Notable people named Orville

A small selection from Wikipedia. Tap "Read more" below to see the full list on Wikipedia.

  • Orville E. Atwood (1880–1939), American politician
  • Orville E. Babcock (1835–1884), American general
  • Orville Hickman Browning (1806–1881), American politician
  • Orville Bulman (1904-1978), American businessman-turned-painter
  • Orville Richard Burrell (born 1968), stage name Shaggy (musician) , Jamaican-American singer
  • Orville Carlisle (1917–1988), American inventor
  • Orville Dewey (1794-1882), American clergyman
  • Orville Lloyd Douglas (born 1976), Canadian poet and writer

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

Names that sound like Orville

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

Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.

Frequently Asked Questions about Orville

What does the name Orville mean?
Orville is a masculine given name created for a character in the novel Evelina by Frances Burney. Meaning golden town or golden settlement. It may refer to:
How popular is Orville in 2026?
In 2026, Orville ranks #6,695 among boys' names in the U.S., with 12 babies given the name that year.
When was Orville most popular?
Orville reached its peak popularity in 1920, ranking #119 that year with 1,195 babies given the name.
In which U.S. states is Orville most popular?
Orville has historically been most popular in North Dakota, Wyoming, South Dakota. Rankings vary year to year, but these states show the strongest concentration of births named Orville.
Is Orville a unisex name?
In U.S. Social Security records, Orville is primarily a boy's name. We don't have meaningful data for it as a girl's name.
What names go well with Orville?
Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Orville include Moses, Jonah, Andre. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data.

About the name Orville

Orville is a boy baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1880 and has accumulated 35K births in the dataset. Orville's peak popularity came in 1920 when it ranked #119. Use the chart and map above to compare Orville'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.