Today’s choice has two distinct origins with similar meanings.
Thanks to mom-to-be Michelle for suggesting Orly as our Baby Name of the Day.
Let’s start with the Hebrew origin for this name. Remember the middle name songstress Christina Aguilera gave to her son Max? It’s Liron – Hebrew for my song. The “li” element – my – appears in the name Orli, too. Or- comes from the word for light. The meaning is roughly the “light is mine.” File this under yet another appealing Israeli option, as worn by notables like Jerusalem-born pianist/radio host Orli Shaham. The spelling Orlie is out there, too.
But that might not be your first thought. You might hear Orly and wonder when your flight arrives. If you’re in Orly, you’re in the Paris ‘burbs. Most flights in the metropolitan area head in and out of De Gaulle, of course, but a 2010 French film was set in the airport.
You’re also not too far from an ancient settlement called Aureliacum. Roughly translated, it means Aurelius’ place. Here’s the really fascinating part: Aurelius was, of course, a Roman family name, worn by several saints. But the -acum is Celtic in origin, a suffix added to the Latin name.
Back to Aurelius: it came from Latin aureus – golden. It’s not quite the same as light, but they’re in the same ballpark. The lovely Aurelia left the US Top 1000 after the 1940s, but has attracted some attention of late. Aurelia would fit right in with Amelia and Olivia. The French version Aurélie has migrated into English as Oralie and Aura Lee, too.
Orly has a totally different vibe, but she feels quite current, too. She’d fit with:
- Modern, gender-bending choices like Avery, Aubrey, and Riley;
- Brief-but-complete names like Zoe and Chloe;
- The -or sound brings to mind names like Marley, Lorelei, Carly/Carlie, Cora, and Caroline – everything from the modern to the vintage to the classic.
This next generation of parents might think of one other thing: O RLY. If ILY is your equivalent of hearts and flowers doodled on the bottom of a notebook page, O RLY might be your version of an arched eyebrow. If that describes you, then you might see Orly and think not of light or airports or Ancient Rome, but of the phrase “oh really.”
In that case, Orly seems an unlikely choice for a daughter. Should you still like the sound, there’s always the similar place name Airlie, previously covered here, or the Irish Orla.
But Orly has the virtue of being that rarest of names: legitimately female, frills-free, complete in her ends-in-y form. She’s almost a 21st century Mary – but unlike the former #1, Orly is undeniably unexpected.
“My light” is a nice meaning, but all I can think of when I hear Orly is the nail polish brand, started by the guy who invented the French manicure.
That was my first thought! The Orly nail polish brand.
I prefer Orla as well. I like Aurelia and Oriane/Auriane, but Oralie? Way too much middle-school teasing potential. I think even adults would raise their eyebrows at that one.
Oh goodness. I was about to post that I like Aurelie but reading your comment I change my mind!
I love Aurelie! But, then again, I pronounce it as [aur-AY-lee].
Writing my previous comment, I had an association with Orly as a poor farm boy in some classic family movie, probably from the 1940s, but I haven’t confirmed that. I did find that the mother in “The Yearling” is called Ora or “Ory”, so perhaps that’s the association. (The boy in that movie is called Jody.) The Yearling is set in the post-Civil War South.
I don’t really have any associations that spring to mind with this one – just that I prefer Orla.
Me too! I immediately think of Orla Kiely the handbag designer 🙂
I was surprised when I first noticed Orly on a list of possible names for the expected baby girl of a poster on another baby name website. I can’t find anything appealing about the name — not the sound of it, the appearance of it, and most certainly not the only association I have for it, the persistent fabricator Orly Taitz. The name has a ‘backwoods’, uneducated vibe for me.
I find the meaning and sound of Orly attractive, but Mrs. Taitz… yikes. Even Bill O’Reilly called her “a nut” and she’s not namesake material. Hopefully her 15 minutes are up, but with a number of states considering “birther” bills, probably not.
I have friends who just named their 3rd daughter Orli, joining sisters Liat and Sela. Overall I think they did a good job choosing Hebrew names that also sound modern and not too out there.
Orly is both pretty and unusual, but she sounds rather like “orally”, which I could see being a problem.
Orly’s my favorite airport in the world! (I grew up less than 20 miles from Newark, I have a thing for airports). I suppose it could work on a kid but it seems weird on one, to me. Feels masculine to me, though, probably because of it’s similarity to Orry. I’d stick with Aurelia myself. (I’ve been toying with Aurelian on a boy, too). Orly on a girl gets a hmmm, from me.
My husband loves this name! I have no idea why, but since we came across it in the Baby Name Wizard, he’s had it on his list for this baby due in September.
I love the name Orly. I’ve only known one: The lady who lived next door to my grandmother. She was very kind and very classy. =)
was that me by any chance ? lol
My first thoughts were that it’s a shortening for Orlando – and therefore a boys name!
Me too! The only “Orly” I know is an Orlando
The only Orly I know is a beautiful young woman from Israel :).