Unisex name ★ peaked 2024

Orla

Meaning golden princess Gender Unisex · 81% girls Rank 2025 #2,532 Trend ↑ Rising 120%

Anglicized version of Irish Órfhlaith (“golden princess”), from ór (“gold”) + flaith (“princess”).

Rank 2025
#2,532
among girls · ↓7 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
70
named Orla · -1% vs 2024
How common
1 in 22,961
girls born in 2025
Peak year
2024
71 babies
All-time total
1,485
#6,615 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Orla popularity over time

1,485 babies have been named Orla since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.030.050.080.118801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
BoysGirls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – 38 38 4 – –
1890s 17 34 51 5 +34% #1,410
1900s 5 6 11 1 -78% #2,101
1910s 71 62 133 13 +1109% #2,006
1920s 120 95 215 22 +62% #2,241
1930s 59 23 82 8 -62% #2,693
1940s 26 22 48 5 -41% #3,761
1950s 20 – 20 2 -58% #6,007
1960s 16 6 22 2 +10% #6,356
1970s – – – – – –
1980s – – – – – –
1990s 56 – 56 6 – #8,419
2000s 179 – 179 18 +220% #4,778
2010s 273 – 273 27 +53% #3,984
2020s (to 2025) 357 – 357 60 +118% #2,525

Where Orla is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 79 0.05 outside top 500
2027 88 0.05 outside top 500
2028 97 0.06 outside top 500
2029 104 0.06 outside top 500
2030 111 0.07 outside top 500

Where Orla is most popular

Girls named Orla per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.040 per 1,000. Strongest in Massachusetts, Minnesota, and New York.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Orla born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Massachusetts 17 0.141 +251%
Minnesota 11 0.102 +154%
New York 35 0.088 +121%
Illinois 13 0.057 +42%
New Jersey 9 0.050 +24%
Pennsylvania 11 0.047 +16%
California 18 0.021 -47%
Ohio 5 0.021 -47%
Alaska – – –
Alabama – – –
Arkansas – – –
Arizona – – –
Colorado – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Florida – – –
Georgia – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Indiana – – –
Kansas – – –
Kentucky – – –
Louisiana – – –
Maryland – – –
Maine – – –
Michigan – – –
Missouri – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Carolina – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Oklahoma – – –
Oregon – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Carolina – – –
South Dakota – – –
Tennessee – – –
Texas – – –
Utah – – –
Virginia – – –
Vermont – – –
Washington – – –
Wisconsin – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Orla

Orla is rare for girls in the United States, ranked #2,532 in 2025 with 70 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 1,485 American babies have been named Orla, about 81% girls and 19% boys, making it a genuinely unisex name. Its peak came in 2024, when 71 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2020s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Orla stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Orla?

The median living Orla is about 10 years old; half are between 3 and 20. An estimated 900 people named Orla are alive in the United States today.

median 10 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Orla year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 70 #2,532 – –
2024 71 #2,525 – –
2023 68 #2,609 – –
2022 60 #2,850 – –
2021 56 #2,989 – –
2020 32 #4,338 – –
2019 37 #3,984 – –
2018 29 #4,747 – –
2017 19 #6,472 – –
2016 31 #4,605 – –
2015 30 #4,687 – –
2014 29 #4,867 – –
2013 29 #4,855 – –
2012 19 #6,811 – –
2011 28 #5,024 – –
2010 22 #6,129 – –
2009 31 #4,778 – –
2008 17 #7,660 – –
2007 21 #6,497 – –
2006 14 #8,602 – –
2005 15 #7,813 – –
2004 14 #8,126 – –
2003 14 #7,890 – –
2002 17 #6,619 – –
2001 17 #6,547 – –
2000 19 #5,883 – –
1995 – – – –
1990 – – – –
1985 – – – –
1980 – – – –
1975 – – – –
1970 – – – –
1965 – – 6 #3,816
1960 – – – –
1955 – – – –
1950 – – – –
1945 – – 6 #3,226
1940 7 #3,761 – –
1935 – – – –
1930 8 #3,585 10 #2,738
1925 8 #3,946 6 #4,077
1920 17 #2,241 10 #2,911
1915 6 #4,141 7 #3,306
1910 5 #2,693 – –
1905 – – – –
1900 – – 6 #1,275
1895 – – – –
1890 – – 10 #657
1885 – – 6 #907
1880 – – 5 #1,026

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Orla, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Orla?

The median living Orla is about 10 years old. Half of all living Orlas are between 3 and 20 years old.

How many people named Orla are alive today?

An estimated 900 people named Orla are alive in the United States, based on 1,485 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Orla mean?

Anglicized version of Irish Órfhlaith (“golden princess”), from ór (“gold”) + flaith (“princess”).

How popular is the name Orla in 2025?

Orla ranked #2,532 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 70 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Orla?

1,485 babies have been named Orla in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Orla most popular?

Orla peaked in 2024, when 71 newborns received the name.

Is Orla a boy or girl name?

Orla is used for both: about 81% of babies named Orla have been girls and 19% boys.

Is the name Orla rising or falling?

Orla is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Orla become more popular?

Orla is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 111 girls named Orla in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Names like Orla

Names that sound and feel close to Orla: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Orla with similar names → More names starting with O →