Orson

Where Orson comes from

The dictionaries list Orson as a given name — a male given name transferred from the surname — but don't trace where it came from. The record below is what the SSA data shows.

  • 2 syllables
Along the way
  1. 1880
    First SSA year
    Already #745 among boys — 7 babies in the first year on record.
  2. 1883
    Peak, #527
    12 babies named Orson — more than any year before or since.
  3. 1884
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #848.
  4. 1915
    Orson Welles born
    American actor and filmmaker
  5. 1951
    Orson Scott Card born
    American science fiction novelist
In the dictionary
  • A male given name transferred from the surname.
Namesakes
  • Orson Welles · American actor and filmmaker, 1915–1985
  • Orson Scott Card · American science fiction novelist, born 1951
  • Orson Bean · American actor, 1928–2020
  • Orson Pratt · Apostle of the LDS Church, 1811–1881
  • Orson Hyde · American Mormon leader, 1805–1878

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.