Orla: meaning and UK use

What does Orla mean?

Orla is an anglicised spelling of Órlaith. Keep the connection with the original name clear rather than assuming every similarly spelled name has the same history.

Language or name family covered

Irish

Meaning or derivation

An anglicised form of Órlaith

Our browsing group

girl; international, modern

Browsing groups describe our editorial shortlist, not rules about who may use a name. A name can cross languages and genders.

Sources for this entry — reviewed 2026-10-07:

• Behind the Name — Orla

Pronunciation and related forms

OR-luh (British English)

English respellings are approximate; IPA is labelled where used. Follow the pronunciation a person or family chooses, and check it with a speaker of the intended language if that connection matters to you.

Related forms recorded in the reference: Órlaith, Órfhlaith, Orlagh. These may be full forms, diminutives or forms in another language; they are not necessarily pronounced alike or counted together in statistics.

How popular is Orla?

In 2025, 721 baby girls in England and Wales were registered as Orla, making it the 64th most popular girls’ name. That is down 6 places on 2024, when it ranked 58th. Ten years earlier, in 2015, it ranked 106th, so it has climbed 42 places in a decade. Its best year in the ONS series was 2023, at 56th. These figures cover England and Wales, not the whole UK.

2025 rank (girls)

64th

2025 registrations

721

Best rank in this series

56th (2023)

Every year from 1996 to 2025

Orla: rank and number of baby girls by year (ONS)

Year	Rank	Babies
2025	64	721
2024	58	746
2023	56	780
2022	63	776
2021	66	794
2020	72	733
2019	78	687
2018	86	621
2017	88	610
2016	107	537
2015	106	539
2014	122	456
2013	132	405
2012	155	344
2011	155	340
2010	175	301
2009	164	321
2008	211	245
2007	251	198
2006	287	161
2005	319	127
2004	276	150
2003	269	155
2002	280	139
2001	282	135
2000	254	156
1999	267	144
1998	414	74
1997	396	80
1996	549	45

The sum of published counts in this 1996–2025 girls series is 11,520. This is a lower bound where years are suppressed, not the number of living people with the name. A best rank is the best position within this series; it does not establish an all-time record.

Selected hyphenated registrations starting with Orla in 2025: Orla-Rose: 12 (girls). This selection includes up to four matching forms with at least ten registrations, not every compound name.

Sources: ONS release, 2025; girls' dataset; boys' dataset. Our 20 top-ten positions were checked against Table 1 in the 2025 workbooks. The history chart and spelling comparisons come from the separate ONS 1996–2025 workbook, checked 7 October 2026. Spelling variants are separate entries. Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate statistics.

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Names to compare with Orla

These suggestions share a browsing group and one or more of our style tags or source-context labels. They are taste comparisons, not etymological relatives or a popularity ranking.

• Amarainternational, modern · Grace
• Ariamodern, international · Song or melody; literally air
• Diyainternational, modern · Lamp or light
• Freyamodern, international · Lady
• Maeveinternational · Intoxicating
• Mayainternational, modern · Meaning depends on the language

Read the UK naming guide for the difference between inspiration lists and official statistics, or return to the full name finder.

Registering or changing the name

Once you decide on Orla, confirm the registration process for your UK nation with the register office. If you later want to change a registered name, the route depends on the circumstances and may require consent from people with parental responsibility.

Start with GOV.UK birth registration or GOV.UK guidance on changing a child’s name. Our registration guide and child name-change guide explain where to find the relevant official process.