Orion
- Pronunciation
- [O-ri-on]
- Gender
- Male
- Meaning
- Son Of Fire
- Origin
- Greek
About the Name Orion
Orion descends from the Greek Ōríōn (Ὠρίων) — the legendary Greek mythological hunter giant. According to various Greek myths, Orion was a fierce huntsman placed in the sky by the gods after his death; he is now the constellation Orion, one of the most-recognizable constellations in the night sky (visible from both hemispheres, prominently featuring the three stars of Orion's Belt). The name's etymology is debated but possibly connects to oros (mountain) or to an even older non-Greek source.
The name has been used in English-speaking countries since the 19th century, originally as a literary-classical name and increasingly as a modern American boys' name. Notable bearers include the fictional Orion of various science-fiction novels and films; American basketball player Orion Outerbridge; and the surname-bearer Italian theologian Saint Luigi Orione.
The contemporary American Orion surge is part of the broader 21st-century American taste for celestial-mythological boys' names alongside Atlas, Apollo, and Cassius. The name climbed from outside the US top 1000 in 2000 to the US top 300 boys' rank by 2014 and the top 300 since. The name's appeal sits in three contemporary American naming preferences: the layered Greek-mythological-celestial pedigree, the in-built distinctive constellation-hunter sophistication, and the soft three-syllable structure with vowel-rich rhythm. The name reads as both classical-mythological and contemporary American. Common nicknames Ori (the dominant short form, casual and warm) and the rare Rio each carry distinct registers; the alternate spellings Orion and Orien have their own SSA tracking. International forms include Orión (Spanish, with accent), Orione (Italian), and the original Greek Ōríōn.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration name data, 1880–2024 (methodology). By Marvin Tang.
Quick Facts About Orion
US Popularity History (2000–2025)
Annual US births named Orion by gender, from US Social Security Administration records. Peak year: 2018 with 1,152 boys named Orion (boy rank #300 that year).
Where it stands today: in 2025, ranked #334 for boys (1,012 US births). That's 34 places below its 2018 peak.
Source: US Social Security Administration. Limitations: US birth-certificate data only; names appearing fewer than 5 times in a given year are suppressed for privacy; spelling variants are counted separately. For names that ranked outside the US top 100 before year 2000, only the years they reached the top 100 are shown — the chart may have gaps for less-popular historical names.
Paste the snippet below on any HTML page. Includes a credit link back to 9BabyNames — please keep it intact.
Where in the US Is Orion Most Popular?
Average boy-name rank within each state across 2016–2025 SSA records. A lower number means the name appears closer to the top of that state's boys-name rankings — a per-capita measure that isn't biased toward large states. For Orion the strongest states are Alaska, Oregon, Hawaii.
Strongest boys-name states
| # | State | Avg rank | Births |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alaska | #131 | 79 |
| 2 | Oregon | #153 | 271 |
| 3 | Hawaii | #156 | 82 |
| 4 | New Mexico | #180 | 124 |
| 5 | Colorado | #181 | 353 |
| 6 | New Hampshire | #200 | 35 |
| 7 | Washington | #202 | 402 |
| 8 | Montana | #202 | 41 |
| 9 | Maine | #204 | 48 |
| 10 | Nevada | #222 | 150 |
Weakest boys-name states
| # | State | Avg rank | Births |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Louisiana | #620 | 75 |
| 2 | Alabama | #618 | 64 |
| 3 | South Carolina | #587 | 76 |
| 4 | Mississippi | #524 | 30 |
| 5 | Kentucky | #505 | 79 |
| 6 | Georgia | #460 | 216 |
| 7 | Illinois | #455 | 223 |
| 8 | New Jersey | #455 | 155 |
| 9 | Tennessee | #436 | 159 |
| 10 | Arkansas | #425 | 68 |
Source: SSA state-level baby-name dataset 2016–2025. States with fewer than 3 years of data for Orion in this window are excluded. Births < 5 in a given state-year are suppressed by SSA for privacy.
Looking for names like Orion?
A dedicated page with 60+ related names — spelling variants, rhymes, alliterations, same-origin matches, and shared meaning concepts — lives at its own URL so each kind of similarity gets a deeper treatment than fits here.
Compare Orion to Other Popular Names
Side-by-side popularity charts and crossover years for Orion against today's most popular boys-name peers (top 8 by US births in the last 10 years of SSA records).
Orion Baby Name Ideas
- Should Sibling Names Be Similar in Popularity? Building a Set Without Ranking the Children
- How to Name a Younger Sibling When the Older Child Has an Unusually Distinctive Name
- The Best Middle Names for Joseph: Pairings That Separate the Full Name From Joe and Joey
- The Best Middle Names for Jacob: Pairings for a Warm Two-Syllable Classic
- Astronomy Baby Names Beyond Luna: Starry Names with Real-Life Gravity
- Artemis & Diana Baby Names: Moonlit Names for Hunters, Goddesses and Wild Girls
- Witchy Baby Names: Moody, Mystical, and Folkloric Picks
- Alternatives to Celebrity Baby Names: Unique and Meaningful Choices
- Uncommon and Unusual Baby Names with Beautiful Meanings
- Nature-Inspired Boy Names for Your Future Babies of Outdoor
- Baby Name Trends to Watch for in 2025
- 70 Energy Baby Names for Boys and Girls: Names That Spark Strength and Vitality
- 70 Fairy Names and Their Meanings: A Magical Collection
- Exotic Baby Names: Unusual, Rare, and Full of Allure
- Dreamy Baby Names: Enchanting Choices for Your Little One
- Top 100 Unique Boy Names in 2024
- Unique and Interesting Boy Names: Uncommon Choices for Your Baby
- 100 Exquisite Element-Inspired Boy and Girl Names
- The Perfect Middle Name: Nice Middle Names for Boys and Girls
- Cool Guy Names: Effortlessly Stylish Picks for Your Baby Boy