Orion
Feminine
Orion is given to boys far more often — 23,120 boys against 630 girls since 1880. See Orion as a boy name
Orion is the last of the great sky names to cross. Nova, Luna, Vega, Lyra, Aurora and Stella all moved to girls without resistance because none of them is a person; Orion is a man with a story, and it is being pulled across anyway by the sheer weight of the category around it.
How old is the name Orion?
Orion first appears in US birth records in 1917 — 108 years ago. The typical Orion is a kid of about 11 — this name's wave is very recent. About 600 people named Orion are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Orion most popular?
Orion peaked in 2021, reaching #3735 nationally. Today it ranks #6325, 2,590 places below that high. See the whole 2021 chart.
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
The story of Orion
Orion is a hunter in Greek myth, killed in several incompatible versions of the story and set among the stars, where his belt of three bright stars makes him the most recognizable constellation in the northern winter sky. The name's use for people is modern, and its use for girls is very recent: American records show it climbing on the female side only in the last decade, with its best year in 2021. What is moving it is not the myth but the pattern. Once a category of names becomes established for girls, the category recruits, and a generation that grew up with Luna, Nova and Aurora reads Orion as belonging to the same shelf regardless of who the figure was.
Meaningnot established
Not established
The Greek Orion has no secure etymology, which is unusual for so prominent a figure. Proposals include a pre-Greek substrate word, a connection to ourios, of the mountains, and a derivation from the Akkadian Uru-anna, light of heaven, which would make the constellation older than the Greek myth attached to it. Ancient Greek writers themselves offered a folk etymology tied to a crude version of the hunter's birth story, which is evidence that the real source was already lost by the classical period.
Pronouncing Orion
oh-RY-un
Three syllables with the stress in the middle and a long i. Some speakers say OR-ee-on, front-stressed, which is closer to the Greek and much less common in English.
Nicknames for Orion
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
- 1917
- Most girls named
- 202140 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #3735reached in 2021
- Change vs 2024
- −43.8%18 in 2025, from 32
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.
Orion in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Orion in Greek — same name
- Orion in French — same name
- Orion in Spanish — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas.
Orions among us
people named Orion are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 89,293 born in 2025 was named Orion
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Kaylana test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Orion's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Kaylana climbed just as high around 2006, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Kaylana's path sketches the road Orion is walking now.
Orion 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
Orion beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Orion in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The most recognizable constellation in the winter sky, so it can always be pointed at.
- Ori and Rio are both short, usable and pleasant.
- Reads as a sky name to a generation that has grown up with Luna, Nova and Vega.
- It is still overwhelmingly a boy's name in American records, by a wide margin.
- The Greek figure is a hunter with a violent and much-contested story.
- The meaning is genuinely unknown, and the explanations offered are all guesses.
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What they receive
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Orion
Feminine · #6325 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Orions are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 600 people named Orion are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Orion in 2025?
- Orion ranks #6325 among US girl names in 2025, with 18 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Orion?
- About 1 in every 89,293 US girls born in 2025 was named Orion — 18 in all.
- Will my child share the name Orion with classmates?
- Orion will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Orion
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Kaye#6325 · Doria#6325 · Karolyn#6325 · Rosaleen#6325 · Roni#6325 · Darian#6325 · Svetlana#6325 · Fanny#6325
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Orion? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Orion and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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