Orson

maleStatistical record

What official birth registration shows about Orson: which national registrars published it, in which years, and how its recorded position changed.

No researched meaning, origin or pronunciation yet — what that means.

Orson: Recorded since 1996, its highest recorded position is #374, reached in 2024.

2registrars recorded it
29times a registrar ranked it
29years from first to last
#374highest recorded position
8groupings it qualifies for

Region

Rising

among boys in England and Wales · 1996–2024

View as table

England and Wales · Boys rank by year
Year	Rank
1996	#2863
1998	#2074
1999	#2943
2000	#1889
2002	#1411
2003	#1629
2004	#2304
2005	#1135
2006	#1127
2007	#1079
2008	#1156
2009	#831
2010	#736
2011	#781
2012	#625
2013	#720
2014	#566
2015	#472
2016	#597
2017	#501
2018	#541
2019	#487
2020	#406
2021	#375
2022	#417
2023	#381
2024	#374

VerifiedSource: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales.Confidence: high.

See all England and Wales names · Source: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales

What the data shows

RisingEngland and Wales · Boys

Recorded in official data among boys in England and Wales in 27 of the 29 years from 1996 to 2024.

In 2024: #374 among boys in England and Wales, #785 among boys in Republic of Ireland.

Official data from 2 national registrars across 2 regions, 1996–2024 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1996
First recorded at #2863 among boys in England and Wales in 1996 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
England and Wales · Boys
Highest recorded1996–2024
Highest recorded position: #374 among boys in England and Wales, in 2024 (recorded 1996–2024).
England and Wales · Boys
Most recent2024
Most recently recorded at #374 among boys in England and Wales, in 2024.
England and Wales · Boys

Orson appears in 2 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is England and Wales · Boys, which has ranked it in 27 years beginning in 1996, and has registered 1,318 births with the name.

Orson across 2 official records

Each registrar publishes its own list, so these figures are read down a row, never across one. A position in one country is not comparable with a position in another, and Namewise never combines them into a single ranking. The birth counts do not compare across rows either, for a different reason: England and Wales registers roughly thirty times as many births a year as Northern Ireland, so a larger total says which registrar recorded it as much as how widely the name was given.

Orson's first, highest and most recent recorded position in each official list, with the number of births each registrar registered with the name and its largest single year
Published list	First recorded	Highest	Most recent	Years recorded	Births registered	Most in one year
England and Wales · Boys	#2863 (1996)	#374 (2024)	#374 (2024)	27 of 29	1,318 (1996–2024)	119 (2021)
Republic of Ireland · Boys	#552 (2021)	#552 (2021)	#785 (2024)	2 of 4	8 (2021–2024)	5 (2021)

Orson by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Births registered with the name in each decade of this one list, with the number of years the list covers in that decade. Bars are scaled on births a year, which is the figure that compares between decades — a decade the list only partly covers has a smaller total without being a quieter decade. Figures belong to this registrar alone and do not carry to another.

Births registered with Orson in England and Wales · Boys, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1990s	11	3 of 10	4
2000s	145	9 of 10	16
2010s	621	10 of 10	62
2020sbusiest	541	5 of 10	108

Across England and Wales · Boys, the 2020s were its busiest decade — the 5 years of it this list covers, averaging 108 births a year.

Its sharpest single-year move came between 2015 and 2016, when recorded births fell by 25, from 85 to 60.

See the names England and Waleshas recorded the most births with →

Orson appears in

Groupings this name qualifies for under their own stated rules, from the same official statistics shown above.

Popularity data

Official popularity data is available for 2 regions, from 1996 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #374 in England and Wales in 2024.

Orson's recorded popularity observations by year, region and administrative category, including rank, registered births, source confidence and when each region's data was last reviewed.
Year	Region	Category	Rank	Births registered	Confidence	Status
2024	England and Wales	male	#374	115	High	Verified
2023	England and Wales	male	#381	106	High	Verified
2022	England and Wales	male	#417	101	High	Verified
2021	England and Wales	male	#375	119	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	male	#406	100	High	Verified
2019	England and Wales	male	#487	82	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	male	#541	71	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	male	#501	79	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	male	#597	60	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	male	#472	85	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	male	#566	63	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	male	#720	45	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	male	#625	56	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	male	#781	39	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	male	#736	41	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	male	#831	34	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	male	#1156	21	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	male	#1079	22	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	male	#1127	19	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	male	#1135	18	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	male	#2304	6	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	male	#1629	9	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	male	#1411	10	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	male	#1889	6	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	male	#2943	3	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	male	#2074	5	High	Verified
1996	England and Wales	male	#2863	3	High	Verified
2024	Republic of Ireland	male	#785	3	High	Verified
2021	Republic of Ireland	male	#552	5	High	Verified

England and Wales hub — collected by Office for National Statistics
Republic of Ireland hub — collected by CSO Ireland

See methodology and data sources for how popularity data is collected and what "confidence" means.

What the record shows

Recorded by 2 registrars between 1996 and 2024, ranked in 27 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #374, first reached in 2024.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 119 births, registered in England and Wales in 2021.

Its record falls into 3 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 1 year.

A second registrar first ranked it in 2021, and 25 years separate the first registrar to record it from the last.

Every figure here is counted from the seven official registrars Namewise holds. A position is only ever a place within the list that published it, and a record that thins or stops is a fact about what registrars printed — never about how many children received the name.

Where to go next

Records with a comparable body of evidence, so the catalogue can be read outward from this one. Each group states the rule it was selected by.

Next in the catalogue

The records either side of this one alphabetically.

Orrin · #277, 25y
Orry · #303, 11y
Osama · #506, 28y
Oscar · #7, 75y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 2 registrars, over a similar number of ranked years, whose highest position is closest to this one. A similar body of evidence — never a claim that the names themselves are alike.

Clarice · #374, 29y
Nabil · #375, 29y
Nelson · #375, 29y
Sive · #373, 32y

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1990 and 1999.

Alexandre · #374, 30y
Clarice · #374, 29y
Aden · #375, 29y
Anisah · #375, 27y

Orson was ranked #374 in England and Wales · Boys in 2024. These are the names immediately either side of it on that published list — a fact about the registrar's own output, not a similarity judgement.

Orson and the names beside it

Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale, in the same year, by the same registrar — so these are positions that genuinely passed each other, not a similarity judgement. Drawn from the 2,573 names with a recorded popularity standing (common, familiar, uncommon), so a name outside that set could have passed Orson without appearing here.

Orson moved ahead of

Shannon Compare
In 2005 they stood at #2304 and #2304 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2006 that had become #1127 and #4052.
Anders Compare
In 2004 they stood at #2304 and #2304 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2005 that had become #1135 and #3208.
Joakim Compare
In 2002 they stood at #2863 and #2863 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2003 that had become #1629 and #3467.
Nicola Compare
In 2001 they stood at #2863 and #2863 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2002 that had become #1411 and #3225.

Moved the opposite way to Orson

Aaron Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Orson went from #2863 to #374 while Aaron went from #33 to #154.
Adam Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Orson went from #2863 to #374 while Adam went from #16 to #35.
Alan Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Orson went from #2863 to #374 while Alan went from #163 to #592.
Alex Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Orson went from #2863 to #374 while Alex went from #43 to #171.

Moved the same way as Orson

Albie Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Orson went from #2863 to #374 and Albie from #853 to #19.
Alfie Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Orson went from #2863 to #374 and Alfie from #119 to #16.
Alfred Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Orson went from #2863 to #374 and Alfred from #218 to #81.
Archie Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Orson went from #2863 to #374 and Archie from #192 to #10.

What's not yet available

Meaning
Origin
Pronunciation
Nicknames and spelling variants

Absence from this list does not mean the name isn't genuinely meaningful or widely used — only that Namewise hasn't sourced and reviewed that content yet. Absence from a specific year or geography above does not prove zero use there either; official statistics only publish names above a minimum threshold.

Official popularity data is available for 2 regions, from 1996 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #374 in England and Wales in 2024. Source data last verified 2026-07-21.

Orson

Orson at a glance

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Orson across 2 official records

Orson by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Orson appears in

Popularity data

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Names published alongside Orson

Orson and the names beside it

Orson moved ahead of

Moved the opposite way to Orson

Moved the same way as Orson

Orson at a glance

Orson across 2 official records

Orson by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Orson appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Names published alongside Orson

Orson and the names beside it

Orson moved ahead of

Moved the opposite way to Orson

Moved the same way as Orson