How popular is the baby name Orson in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Orson.

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Popularity of the baby name Orson


Posts that mention the name Orson

80+ Hidden gems: Rare baby boy names

gems

Want a boy name that’s not popular, but also not unheard of?

I looked through all the names at the bottom of SSA’s 2011 mega-list and found a bunch of hidden gems:

  1. Alaric (48 baby boys)
  2. Alban (12)
  3. Aldous (11)
  4. Aldric (7)
  5. Alphonse (20)
  6. Archibald (14)
  7. Astor (5)
  8. Augustin (50)
  9. Balthazar (13)
  10. Barclay (6)
  11. Barnabas (8)
  12. Bartholomew (19)
  13. Booker (22)
  14. Chadwick (34)
  15. Cyril (41)
  16. Clancy (14)
  17. Claude (44)
  18. Clement (34)
  19. Crispin (21)
  20. Darcy (15)
  21. Dirk (40)
  22. Doyle (10)
  23. Ernst (6)
  24. Ferdinand (20)
  25. Garrick (42)
  26. Giles (20)
  27. Gregor (14)
  28. Griffith (18)
  29. Grover (9)
  30. Gustaf (7); Gustav (29)
  31. Horatio (10)
  32. Hubert (46)
  33. Ignatius (49)
  34. Isidore (7)
  35. Kermit (6)
  36. Lambert (6)
  37. Laird (17)
  38. Laurence (48)
  39. Laurent (9)
  40. Leander (48)
  41. Leith (7)
  42. Lemuel (50)
  43. Lowell (29)
  44. Maxfield (22)
  45. Newton (14)
  46. Nicanor (8)
  47. Norbert (9)
  48. Norris (21)
  49. Ogden (13)
  50. Orson (33)
  51. Osborn (5); Osborne (7)
  52. Oswald (18)
  53. Pascal (25)
  54. Percival (13)
  55. Peregrine (9)
  56. Piers (16)
  57. Regis (10)
  58. Remis (11)
  59. Roscoe (47)
  60. Rudolph (44)
  61. Rufus (39)
  62. Rupert (8)
  63. Sanford (6)
  64. Seymour (6)
  65. Sherman (40)
  66. Sinclair (8)
  67. Tavish (16)
  68. Thane (48)
  69. Tobiah (14)
  70. Walton (14)
  71. Warner (48)
  72. Watson (42)
  73. Webster (8)
  74. Weldon (27)
  75. Werner (11)
  76. Wilbert (42)
  77. Wilbur (20)
  78. Winfield (7)
  79. Winfred (7)
  80. Winslow (10)
  81. York (5)
  82. Zebulon (25)
  83. Zeno (13)

(In some cases, a different spelling of the name is more popular than what’s shown here. For instance, Laurence is rare, but Lawrence is moderately popular.)

Like any of these?

Spot any other good names at the end of the list?

P.S. Here’s the girls’ list.

Image: Adapted from Birmanian rock crystals by Mauro Cateb under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Environmental baby names: Forrest, Rain, River, Sky

Today on Blog Action Day, thousands of bloggers from all over the world will be writing about environmental issues.

You may be wondering: How can baby names be linked to the environment?

Well, people name their children after family members (e.g. Uncle Joe), religious figures (St. Patrick), places (London), concepts (Hope)… things that matter to them, things they deem important enough to honor.

If you feel strongly about a certain environmental issue, why not do the same thing? There’s surely a baby name out there with a connection to that issue.

For instance, here are two environmental issues I’m personally concerned about and some baby names that remind me of them:

  • The sea ice that polar bears depend on is melting due to global climate change. Because of this habitat loss, polar bears may soon soon be considered a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. Baby names that have to do with bears or ice include Bernard, Bjorn, Crystal, Dov, Orson, Osborn and Ursula.
  • Deforestation is occurring globally at an unprecedented rate. The loss of forests adversely affects biodiversity, wildlife, geography and climate. Baby names that have to do with forests or trees include Aspen, Forrest, Holly, Laurel, Linden, Silvester, Silvia, Tamar and Willow.

If you’re worried about the impact that dams have on the environment, you could think about River or Rio. If you feel it’s imperative that we protect the Great Barrier Reef, you could consider Coral or Coralie. If your pet cause is ozone depletion, try Sky; if it’s overfishing, maybe Ocean.

What issues mean the most to you? Leave me a comment and I’ll come up with a few related baby names…