Holding steady.
Popularity of Orange since 1881
Babies named Orange per year in U.S. Social Security records. Raw births topped out in 1920, but relative to how few babies were recorded back then, Orange's real moment was 1884.
Data table (by decade)
| Decade | Boys |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 76 |
| 1890s | 47 |
| 1900s | 40 |
| 1910s | 109 |
| 1920s | 133 |
| 1930s | 87 |
| 1940s | 73 |
| 1950s | 28 |
| 1960s | 0 |
| 1970s | 5 |
| 1980s | 0 |
| 1990s | 0 |
| 2000s | 0 |
| 2010s | 0 |
| 2020s | 0 |
Meaning & origin
Orange is a rare and unusual given name, almost exclusively used for boys in the United States. Its earliest recorded use dates to 1881, and it reached its highest usage in 1884, though even then it was never common. The name has not ranked among the top 1000 names in any recent year, reflecting its enduring rarity. Orange fits a pattern of 19th-century color and fruit names, but unlike Ruby or Violet, it never gained widespread popularity. Its trajectory has remained consistently rare, with no signs of revival in the 2020s. The name has no association with any particular state.
Orange is a rare given name of uncertain origin. It may derive directly from the English word for the citrus fruit, which itself comes from Old French 'orenge' and ultimately from Arabic 'nāranj'. Alternatively, it could be a transferred use of the English surname Orange, which originated as a topographic name for someone who lived near an orange tree or a habitational name from a place named Orange. The name was used occasionally as a given name in the 19th century, perhaps influenced by the fruit's association with the vibrant color.
Nicknames & variants
Nicknames: Orrie
Sibling names for Orange
Names that share Orange's style, for a brother or sister.
