Orma vs Orman

Babies given each name, 1880–2025

Orma Orman

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 71 years in which either name was published, Orman for 48 years and Orma for 23 years. The lead changed hands 17 times.

• 1890–1911 Orma ahead, apart from one short spell
• 1922–1984 Orman ahead, apart from one short spell

14 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 Ormas alive today are over 84; half the Ormans are over 74. That is 10 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.

Compare something else

Related comparisons

• Orma vs Ormond
• Orman vs Ormond