Orlin
Masculine · “eagle”
Orlin is a Bulgarian name built on orel, an eagle, and it is also an American name of the 1930s with no clear ancestry.
How old is the name Orlin?
Orlin first appears in US birth records in 1908 — 117 years ago. The typical Orlin alive today was born around 1938, making them about 87 years old. About 700 people named Orlin are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Orlin most popular?
Orlin peaked in 1932, reaching #937 nationally. Today it ranks #4539, 3,602 places below that high. See the whole 1932 chart.
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Orlin
Ours, offered as ours. The Slavic word for an eagle — orel, orzeł, orao — is one of the oldest bird names in the family, cognate with Old English earn and German Aar. Bulgarian built the men's name Orlin on it in the modern revival of Slavic naming. The American Orlin of the 1930s is a separate matter with no documented parent, belonging to the same rural layer as Arlis and Verlin. Both are real.
Meaningscholars disagree
eagle
Bulgarian Orlin is from orel, an eagle, a Slavic word cognate with the German Adler and the Latin aquila's relatives. The separate American Orlin appears around 1900 with no traceable source and may be a construction.
Pronouncing Orlin
OR-lin
Two syllables, first stressed. Bulgarian gives or-LEEN.
Nicknames for Orlin
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
- 1908
- Most boys named
- 193248 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #937reached in 1932
- Change vs 2023
- +57.1%22 in 2025, from 14
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.
Orlin in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Орлин in Bulgarian — transliteration
- Orel in Russian — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas.
Orlins among us
people named Orlin are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 77,640 born in 2025 was named Orlin
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 Larue test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Orlin's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Larue climbed just as high around 1912, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Larue's path sketches the road Orlin is walking now.
Orlin 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
Orlin beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Orlin in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled Slavic meaning tied to a real and impressive bird.
- Lin is a complete short form in its own right.
- Genuine early twentieth-century American use behind it.
- The stress differs between the Bulgarian and American readings.
- The Bulgarian and American names are probably unrelated.
- It is close to Orlando and Merlin in an American ear.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Orlin
Masculine · #4539 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Orlins are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 700 people named Orlin are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Orlin in 2025?
- Orlin ranks #4539 among US boy names in 2025, with 22 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Orlin?
- About 1 in every 77,640 US boys born in 2025 was named Orlin — 22 in all.
- Will my child share the name Orlin with classmates?
- Orlin will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Orlin
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Nels#4539 · Gabe#4539 · Michel#4539 · Elroy#4539 · Pearce#4539 · Josemaria#4539 · Jory#4539 · Napoleon#4539
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Orlin? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Orlin and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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