Orvel
Masculine
The brothers tossed a coin and the loser made the first flight. Wilbur won the toss, tried first, stalled and damaged the machine; three days later, with it repaired, it was Orville's turn, and the twelve seconds he managed are the ones everybody remembers.
How old is the name Orvel?
Orvel first appears in US birth records in 1888 — 137 years ago. The typical Orvel alive today was born around 1927, making them about 98 years old. About 200 people named Orvel are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Orvel most popular?
Orvel peaked in 1888, reaching #704 nationally. See the whole 1888 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Orville to Orvel
The story of Orvel
The novel is Evelina, published anonymously by a young woman whose father did not know she was writing, and it was an immediate success; Lord Orville is the hero, and the name appears in general use afterwards and not before, which is the usual signature of a literary coinage. Whether the author took it from a French place or made it up is not recorded. Either way, a name that most Americans associate entirely with a bicycle mechanic from Dayton probably entered the language through a comic novel about a young woman's entrance into London society, written in secret and published without a name on it.
Meaningnot established
Not established
Orville has no secure origin. It may be a French place name, and it may have been invented by a novelist in the eighteenth century, since a Lord Orville appears in a very popular English novel of the seventeen-seventies and no earlier use has been found. Books that give it a French meaning are guessing.
How the name formed
- Orville
- Orvel
Pronouncing Orvel
OR-vul
Two syllables with the stress at the front. The second is reduced to nothing, which is why the e here and the i in the standard spelling are said identically and neither can be defended by ear.
Nicknames for Orvel
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
- 1888
- Most boys named
- 191956 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #704reached in 1888
- Change vs 1965
- +60.0%8 in 1972, from 5
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.
Orvels among us
people named Orvel are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Orvel sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Short, firm and easy to say, with a famous bearer any child can look up.
- Orv is a plain one-syllable everyday form available immediately.
- It is genuinely uncommon while containing nothing unfamiliar.
- Orville is the standard spelling and this one will be corrected constantly.
- The name is strongly dated to the turn of the last century in American ears.
- There is no agreed meaning, and the ones in print are proposals rather than findings.
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Orvel
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Orvels are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 200 people named Orvel are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Orvel in 2025?
- Orvel is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Orvel with classmates?
- Orvel will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More O names
The most-given names starting with O, all years combined.
Oliver#3 · Owen#31 · Oscar#223 · Omar#260 · Otis#652 · Orlando#871 · Otto#277 · Orville#6143
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Orvel? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Orvel and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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