Orelia vs Oretha

Babies given each name, 1880–2025

Orelia Oretha

Each line is every baby given the name that year, girls and boys added together — the only count that means the same thing for both names. A line breaks where the name fell below five babies in a year — the point at which the SSA stops publishing it — rather than being drawn through a figure nobody published. A single published year in a gap shows as a dot.

Who was ahead

Of the 101 years in which either name was published, Oretha for 55 years and Orelia for 46 years. The lead changed hands 12 times.

• 1887–1917 Orelia ahead, apart from one short spell
• 1918–1972 Oretha ahead, apart from 2 short spells
• 1977–2025 Orelia ahead, apart from one short spell

6 shorter spells of a year or two are folded into the spans above rather than listed separately.

Side by side

A rank is a position within one sex’s list for one year, so the two rank rows are not subtracted from one another and the winning column is not marked on them. The living figure is a life-table estimate, not a count.

Which name is older

Half of the Orethas alive today are over 71; half the Orelias are over 68. That is 3 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.

Where each one is strongest

• Orelia Louisiana (53.9×)
• Oretha West Virginia (20.9×), Georgia (7.6×), Texas (4.4×)

How much commoner the name is in that state than it is nationally, from births recorded since 1910.

Compare something else

Related comparisons

• Orelia vs Oren
• Orelia vs Orene
• Orelia vs Orel
• Oretha vs Oren
• Oretha vs Orene
• Oretha vs Orel