Orestes

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Boy · Greek

Orestes

Say it: oh-RES-teez

Try it with your surname

Meaning

Likely from Greek oros 'mountain'.

Likelythe main view, with some doubt.

Used in Greece, Italy and Latin America.

Its wave through time

Rare in the records

In the United States

343 babies given this name since 1918
At its height in 1975, about 1 in 130,200 boys
Fewer than 5 babies a year in 2020

Through the ages

Used by

Ancient Greek Greek Italian Spanish Caribbean

The family of the name

Greek	Orestis
Italian	Oreste
Spanish	Orestes

Famous bearers

Orestes, son of Agamemnon in Greek tragedy

Names worth a look

TheonBoyLikely from Greek theos 'god'.Greece · forgotten

AeneasBoyUncertain. Ancient writers linked it with ainos 'praise' or ainos 'terrible', but neither is settled.Greece · forgotten

ErastusBoyFrom Greek erastos 'beloved'.Biblical · forgotten

TimonBoyFrom Greek timē 'honour'.Greece · forgotten

PlatoBoyFrom Greek platys 'broad'; the story that it was a nickname for the philosopher's shoulders is an ancient anecdote,…Greece · forgotten

DiogenesBoyFrom Greek Dios 'of Zeus' and genēs 'born'.Greece · forgotten

OrsolaGirlFrom Latin Ursula, 'little she-bear', from ursa 'bear'.Renaissance · forgotten

OrsolyaGirlFrom Latin Ursula 'little she-bear'.Middle Ages

Where this comes from

Ancient Greek literature and history (Homer, Herodotus, Plutarch and others)
United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source

Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.

Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.