Skip to main content

Updated June 9, 2019

Family name origins & meanings

  • Northern English, Scottish, and northern Irish : from the Old Norse byname Orri ‘blackcock’ (the male black grouse).
  • Scottish : nickname for someone with a sallow complexion, from Gaelic odhar ‘pale’, ‘dun’.
  • English : topographic name for someone who lived on a shore or ridge, from Old English ōra ‘shore’, ‘hill-slope’, ‘flat-topped ridge’, or a habitational name from a place named with this word (see Ore).

Join the Family

Your partner in parenting from baby name inspiration to college planning.

Subscribe