Oran
Masculine · “dun”
Oran is Irish, and it belongs to a monk with one of the stranger stories in the tradition: Odhran was a companion of Columba on Iona, and the oldest graveyard on the island still carries his name. The word behind it describes a color, the dun brown of a hillside in winter.
How old is the name Oran?
Oran was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Oran alive today was born around 1937, making them about 88 years old. About 1,800 people named Oran are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Oran most popular?
Oran peaked in 1901, reaching #466 nationally. Today it ranks #5045, 4,579 places below that high. See the whole 1901 chart.
Where it comes from
From odhar to Oran
The story of Oran
Odhran died on Iona soon after Columba's community arrived, and the burial ground called Reilig Odhrain became the graveyard of Scottish kings for centuries. His name stayed in Irish and Scottish use. Separately, Oran appears in nineteenth-century American records with no obvious Irish connection, sometimes from the Hebrew word for a pine and sometimes simply as a short name of the kind that period made freely. Both roads reach the same four letters.
Meaningscholars disagree
dun; sallow, greyish-brown
Irish odhar, dun or sallow, with a diminutive ending, giving Odhran and the anglicized Oran. That is the standard reading. Some American Orans instead come from Hebrew oren, a pine tree, or from the Algerian city, and neither can be ruled out for a given family.
How the name formed
- odhar
- Odhrán
- Oran
Related forms: Odhrán · Odhran · Oren
Pronouncing Oran
OR-un
Two syllables, stress in front. The Irish Odhran is said OH-rawn, with the dh silent, which is close but not identical.
Nicknames for Oran
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 1922104 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #466reached in 1901
- Change vs 2022
- +11.8%19 in 2025, from 17
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Oran in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Odhrán in Irish — same name
- Odhran in Scottish Gaelic — same name
- Oren in Hebrew — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas.
Orans among us
people named Oran are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 89,899 born in 2025 was named Oran
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Oran sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Oran beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Oran in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- It carries a documented sixth-century figure and a graveyard that still bears his name.
- Four letters and two syllables: quick to write and easy to say.
- It is Irish without being difficult to spell or pronounce in English.
- Odhran is the Irish spelling and looks nothing like this one, so records may diverge.
- Oran, Orin and Orrin are all in use and near-identical in speech.
- It is also a large Algerian city, which some readers will think of first.
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What they receive
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Oran
Masculine · #5045 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Orans are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,800 people named Oran are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Oran in 2025?
- Oran ranks #5045 among US boy names in 2025, with 19 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Oran?
- About 1 in every 89,899 US boys born in 2025 was named Oran — 19 in all.
- Will my child share the name Oran with classmates?
- Oran will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Oran
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Silver#5045 · Daymon#5045 · Thierry#5045 · Mehmet#5045 · Tyrel#5045 · Teague#5045 · Zeyad#5045 · Gardner#5045
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Oran? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Oran and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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