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Orla

#2,532 in 2025UnisexGirls' nameBoys' name

Golden princess

Orla has been given to 1,485 babies in the U.S. since 1892. In 2025 it ranked #2,532 of 17,293 girls’ names in use. Its peak year was 2024, with 71 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 81% girls, 19% boys all-time.

Babies named Orla, 2025

1 in 47,400

Orla over time, 1880–2025

GirlsBoys
02040608018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — Orla over time

In 2025, Orla went to 100% girls and 0% boys.

18802025

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

Orla: meaning, origin, and history

Golden princess

Irish

What Orla means

Orla means “golden princess”, associated with Órfhlaith.

Dictionary etymologyReferences, data & attribution

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

Excerpt from Wiktionary: Orla (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Origin, language, and formation

Orla is used in English and Danish. Its origins include Irish.

Orla comes through Irish Órfhlaith.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 1,199 girls were recorded with the name Orla between 1892 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 71 in 2024; its best national rank was #1,410 in 1892.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #4,336 in 2020 to #2,532 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #4,686 in 2015 to #2,532 in 2025.

In the United States, 286 boys were recorded with the name Orla between 1880 and 1965. Its highest annual count was 13 in 1921; its best national rank was #657 in 1890.

How common is Orla?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 47,400
70 of 3,315,165 births
Among girls only
1 in 23,000
<0.01% of girls
Rank, 2025
#2,532
of 17,293 girls’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
32,828 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Orla sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Olivia (13,544)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 5001%

Put another way: gather 32,828 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Orla. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Orlas were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Orla was born before 2011 — so the typical Orla is around 14 today.

Median birth year
2011
About 14 years old
Biggest decade
2020s
29.8% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
65.9%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
901
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2020s — 29.8% of all recorded uses (357).

Is Orla rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
−7
Places dropped
Rank vs 5 years ago
+1,804
Places climbed
Rank vs 10 years ago
+2,154
Places climbed
Births vs 10 years ago
2.33×
More babies than then
Share of its own peak
98.6%
Peak was 2024 (71)
Years since peak
1
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Volatile
27.0% average annual change
Best rank ever
#1,410
1892

Spellings of Orla

Orla is not the most common spelling — Ella is, with 12.2% against Orla's 0.04%.

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Where Orla is used

Across 2016–2025, Orla was most concentrated in Massachusetts — about 1 in 14,286 girls, against 1 in 35,367 across all states with data. It was least common in Ohio (1 in 100,000).

17 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Massachusetts1 in 14,286
  2. 2New York1 in 16,667
  3. 3Minnesota1 in 20,000
  4. 4Illinois1 in 33,333
  5. 5New Jersey1 in 33,333
  6. 6Pennsylvania1 in 50,000
  7. 7California1 in 100,000
  8. 8Ohio1 in 100,000

Shading is the share of that state's recorded girls given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings.

Orla around the world

Where Orla ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    1996–2025
    #64
    in 2025
  • Scotland
    1992–2025
    #22
    in 2025
  • Northern Ireland
    1997–2025
    #121
    in 2025
  • Ireland
    1964–2025
    #189
    in 2025
  • France
    1999–2025
    #3,658
    in 2025
  • Canada
    1991–2024
    #1,709
    in 2024
  • South Australia
    1986–2013
    #328
    in 2013

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland, Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, Central Statistics Office, Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS, NRS, NISRA data under Open Government Licence v3.0. CSO, CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0. INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence.

Orla by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#2,532
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 1,804
Best rank ever
#1,410
1892
Peak year
2024
71 that year
First recorded
1892
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
1,199
Count in 2025
70

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
—
Best rank ever
#657
1890
Peak year
1921
13 that year
First recorded
1880
Last recorded
1965
All-time count
286
Count in 2025
Under 5

Names similar to Orla

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

OrlyOrliArlaErlaDorlaOrlenaPearlaOrleanEarlaOrleneMerlaSharlaStarlaOrlindaPerlaVerlaOrlandaMirlaOrlandoOrleeHarlaOrlaithMarlaDarla

Sibling names for Orla

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Orla

Top names of 2024, Orla's peak yearThe 2020s in fullOther names that peaked in 1892Girls' names starting with OIrish Girl NamesIrish NamesShort Danish Boy Names