How Many People Are Named Orel?
An estimated 242 people in the United States have the first name Orel. It is used for both genders, with 80.3% male. The average bearer is 34 years old, and Orel peaked in popularity in 1916 with 73 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Orel as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Orel paired with any surname.
Estimated Living Americans
242
About 1 in 1,416,340 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Very Rare
Predicted Gender
Male
80.3% confidence
Average Age
34
years old
Peak Year
1916
73 births
Total Registered
692
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Orel
Orel is predominantly male (80.3%), though 136 female births have been registered. It functions as a unisex name for a small percentage of bearers.
Orel as a male name
Ranked #13,663 in 2024
5 male births in 2024
Peak: 1916 (27 births)
Orel as a female name
Ranked #16,755 in 2009
6 female births in 2009
Peak: 1916 (46 births)
Orel: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Orel span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 14 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1910s, when 239 babies were registered. Orel has declined significantly from its peak in the 1910s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Orel by Decade
How has Orel tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
Orel by State
Birth registrations for Orel span all 6 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in California, Minnesota, Kentucky. The lowest are in Wisconsin, Texas, New York. On average, about 6 Orels were registered per state.
Orel + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Orel as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Orel
Other first names starting with O with a similar number of bearers.
Orel: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Orel?
We estimate approximately 242 people named Orel are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 1,416,340 Americans share this first name.
Is Orel a common name?
Orel is classified as "Very Rare" and is more popular than 76.7% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 692 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Orel most popular?
Orel reached peak popularity in 1916, when 73 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Orel is approximately 34 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Orel a male name?
Orel is predominantly male. 80.3% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Orel Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Orel Smith, Orel Johnson, Orel Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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