Let’s look at the most popular Oregon baby names, plus some choices that are exactly right for families in the Pacific Northwest.
The most popular baby names in Oregon mirror national trends, though every state has its own personality and preferences.
Located in the Pacific Northwest, Oregon became a state in 1859. It’s known for rainy weather, but also gorgeous landscapes, ranging from the coast to the mountains. The state’s biggest city, Portland, is known for its eclectic, offbeat, eco-conscious culture. Faster than you can say “put a bird on it!” you can probably picture it, thanks to 2010s sketch comedy series Portlandia.
No surprise that nature names like River and Wrenley crack the state’s Top 100. Vintage finds like Margot and Felix, Jasper and Mabel, outperform national rankings, too, hinting at the state’s indie vibes.
In between the urban and the rural, the state is packed with interesting finds. The Willamette Valley wine region sits on the same latitude as Burgundy, France. And national forests dot the state. After all, it’s the ninth largest state by size.
In terms of population, Oregon falls right in the middle – about 27th out of 50. The population is heavily white, with about 14% Hispanic and Latino, 5% Asian,and 2% African American and just under 2% Native American.
The most popular name for boys, Oliver, reflects this. In states with larger Latino populations, that distinction almost always belongs to flowing, romance-language friendly Liam or Noah.
Worth noting: Oregon publishes its own data, both historic and current.
The state also boasts an excellent motto: She Flies With Her Own Wings. It suggests independence and creativity – two hallmarks of naming in the Beaver State.
OREGON AS A BABY NAME
Carolina and Georgia, yes. Dakota? Of course. But Oregon is not used as a given name in the United States.
It has never been reported in the data collected by the US Social Security Administration. That said, SSA records only list a name given to five girls or five boys in a single year of birth, and those records only begin in 1880. So it’s possible that there are a very few people given the name Oregon – but they’re very rare, indeed.
What does the state’s name mean? Multiple theories compete.
- It might come from the Spanish word orejón, referring to big ears. Spanish explorers first entered the region around the Columbia River. El Orejón would eventually become Oregon.
- Another Spanish possibility: orégano. As in the plant, possibly because it grows in the state or because the area was named after a Spanish place name.
- In 1765, an English explorer used the name Ouragon. It might have come from a French word meaning windstorm or hurricane. Or maybe from an indigenous language, meaning beautiful.
- On a similar note, the Portuguese phrase ouve água translates to “hear the waters.” It references the rivers cascading down from Mount Hood. Poetic, and reported in the venerable Sunset magazine, it sounds possible.
- More recently, it’s been suggested that Oregon comes from a misinterpretation of a river’s name on a French map: Ouaricon-sint.
Lots of theories, but no consensus. In any case, Oregon sounds very much like a state’s name and seems unlikely to be borrowed for our children.
TOP TEN BOY NAMES IN OREGON
10. JAMES (#5 in the US)
9. BENJAMIN (#11 in the US)
8. WILLIAM (#10 in the US)
7. MATEO (#7 in the US)
6. ELIJAH (#8 in the US)
5. HENRY (#6 in the US)
4. NOAH (#2 in the US)
3. THEODORE (#4 in the US)
2. LIAM (#1 in the US)
1. OLIVER (#3 in the US)
TOP 100 OREGON BOY NAMES
- Oliver
- Liam
- Theodore
- Noah
- Henry
- Elijah
- Mateo
- William
- Benjamin
- James
- Sebastian
- Lucas
- Hudson
- Ezra
- Leo
- Wyatt
- Daniel
- Jack
- Samuel
- Elias
- Levi
- Owen
- Wesley
- Luca
- Grayson
- Julian
- Santiago
- Ethan
- Jackson
- Ezekiel
- Everett
- Matthew
- Asher
- Bennett
- Michael
- Thomas
- Miles
- Alexander
- Luke
- Beau
- Isaac
- Rowan
- Joseph
- Waylon
- Carter
- David
- Cooper
- John
- August
- Charles
- Mason
- Silas
- Theo
- Aiden
- Maverick
- Weston
- Roman
- Isaiah
- Caleb
- Dylan
- Lincoln
- Arthur*
- Jasper*
- Logan
- Adrian
- Emmett*
- Gabriel
- Milo*
- Walker
- Brooks
- Angel
- Sawyer*
- Axel
- Atlas*
- Calvin*
- Arlo*
- Enzo
- Hunter
- Nolan
- Landon*
- Luka
- Adriel*
- Anthony
- Graham*
- Jacob
- Kai
- Parker
- Christopher
- Ian
- Jose
- Rory*
- Ryder*
- Archer*
- Dean*
- Emiliano*
- Gael
- Felix*
- River*
- Andrew
- Eli
* indicates the name does not rank in the current US Top 100
TOP TEN GIRL NAMES IN OREGON
10. VIOLET (#15 in the US)
9. HAZEL (#19 in the US)
8. AURORA (#16 in the US)
7. EVELYN (#8 in the US)
6. ELEANOR (#14 in the US)
5. SOPHIA (#6 in the US)
4. EMMA (#2 in the US)
3. CHARLOTTE (#4 in the US)
2. AMELIA (#3 in the US)
1. OLIVIA (#1 in the US)
TOP 100 OREGON GIRL NAMES
- Olivia
- Amelia
- Charlotte
- Emma
- Sophia
- Eleanor
- Evelyn
- Aurora
- Hazel
- Violet
- Mia
- Luna
- Nora
- Sofia
- Penelope
- Juniper*
- Harper
- Lucy
- Camila
- Elizabeth
- Isabella
- Abigail
- Isla
- Ava
- Emily
- Josephine
- Ellie
- Paisley
- Willow
- Lily
- Riley
- Scarlett
- Chloe
- Lainey
- Zoe
- Eliana
- Emilia
- Stella
- Maya
- Daisy
- Elena
- Naomi
- Ruby
- Aria
- Grace
- Ella
- June*
- Iris
- Mila
- Avery
- Delilah
- Maeve
- Alice
- Ayla
- Sophie
- Zoey
- Athena
- Layla
- Eloise
- Ember
- Hannah
- Lyla
- Adeline
- Gianna
- Ivy
- Lucia
- Clara
- Vivian
- Elsie*
- Kinsley
- Eden
- Jade
- Millie
- Nova
- Valentina
- Claire
- Esther*
- Everly
- Lillian
- Lydia
- Maria
- Rose*
- Addison
- Cora*
- Natalie
- Kennedy
- Sadie
- Emery
- Isabel*
- Madelyn
- Olive*
- Parker*
- Audrey
- Brooklyn*
- Mabel*
- Margot*
- Victoria
- Genesis
- Georgia*
- Wrenley*
* indicates the name does not rank in the current US Top 100
DISTINCTIVE OREGON PLACE NAMES
ASTORIA
Established in the early 1800s as Fort Astoria, thanks to funding provided by New Yorker John Jacob Astor. It would become the state’s first permanent settlement by those of European descent. Astor invested to support his interests in the fur trade.
EUGENE
Named for the city’s founder, Eugene Skinner.
JOSEPHINE
The name of an Oregon county, named after an early settler. She came with her father, a gold prospector, in 1851.
LAKE, LANE, LINN
From the names of Oregon counties.
LION, LYON, LYONS
From a tiny town called Lyons.
MARION
Another Oregon county. Like many places names in the US, it honors Francis Marion, a general from South Carolina who served during the American Revolution.
PAISLEY
Inspired by the Paisley Caves in Lake County, Oregon.
SALEM
The state’s capital may have been named for Salem, Massachusetts. Or it may be directly from the Old Testament town. The name means peace.
TILLY
In this case, Tilly is borrowed from Tillamook, a city and county name, in turn borrowed from an indigenous tribe.
WILLA
Inspired by the Willamette Valley. It’s also a nod to historical figures like journalist William Gladstone Steel, who campaigned tirelessly to establish Oregon’s Crater Lake as a national park.
NAMES FROM OREGON HISTORY AND SYMBOLS
DOUGLAS
The Douglas fir is the official state tree.
GOLDEN
In 1579, a group of Spanish explorers circumnavigating the Earth sighted Oregon’s Pacific coast. Their ship? The Golden Hind.
EMERALD
From the nickname for Eugene, Oregon: The Emerald City.
JORY
Jory soil is the official state soil. It’s name comes from the hill in Marion County where the soil was first reported. The hill, in turn, is named for the Jory family of settlers.
LARK, MEADOW
The Western Meadowlark is the state’s songbird.
ROSE
One of Portland’s famous nicknames is City of Roses.
SUNNY
The state’s official gemstone is the Oregon sunstone.
FAMOUS OREGONIANS
ABIGAIL, BEATRICE
From Oregon suffrage activists, Abigail Scott-Duniway and Beatrice Cannady.
AURORA, LOLA
In 1908, Aurora “Lola” Baldwin became one of the first female police officers in the US, as part of the Portland Police Department.
CHLOE
Chloe Aurelia Clarke Wilson established the Oregon Institute, the predecessor of Willamette University.
DOROTHY
American aviator and stunt pilot Dorothy Stenzel eventually opened her own flight school in Cornelius, Oregon.
ETIENNE
A French Canadian trapper, Étienne Lussier was perhaps the first European to stay and establish a farm.
LINDSAY
Lindsay Applegate helped blaze the Applegate Trail as a less treacherous alternative to the Oregon Trail. The Applegate River is named for Lindsay and his family.
JUNE
Football coach June Sheldon Jones III isn’t a household name, but it’s intriguing to find a history of June as a masculine name. Born in Portland, his career has taken him from Southern Methodist University to the Atlanta Falcons, as well as stints in Hawaii and Hamilton, Canada.
MARGAUX
Born Margot Hemingway, the late model and actress was the granddaughter of writer Ernest Hemingway. She changed the spelling of her name when she learned it was inspired by the wine, Chateau Margaux. While she was born in Oregon and attended a Portland high school, she spent her childhood in Cuba, Idaho, and San Francisco, too.
MATTHEW
As in creator of The Simpsons, Matt Groening.
MEL, MELVIN
Voice actor Mel Blanc was born in 1908, but remains internationally known as the voice of Looney Tunes characters like Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Yosemite Sam, to name just a few. Blanc was known as “The Man of a Thousand Voices.” While work often took him to California, Blanc had deep roots in Oregon, too.
MINORU
Born in Hood River, Oregon in 1916, Minoru Yasui earned his law degree from the University of Oregon. After the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor and the US’ entry into World War II, Yasui would become of the few Japanese Americans to fight laws targeting his community. While he lost his case and spent several years in an internment camp, Yasui was later recognized as a civic leader and his conviction was overturned. In 2015, he received a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom.
NELL
Nell Franzen was born in Portland, acted in local theatre, and graduated to silent films in the 1910s. By 1924, Franzen had retired. Her sweetly minimal name sounds fresh and modern, as does her sister’s name, Mae.
PHILIP
Born in portland, Phil Knight founded the athletic footwear and equipment powerhouse Nike. The company is headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon.
RAMONA, BEVERLY
Strictly speaking, Ramona Quimby is fictional. Her creator, author Beverly Cleary, is very real and very much a daughter of Oregon. Cleary set Ramona’s childhood in Portland’s Grant Park neighborhood, beginning with her first book in 1955. The Quimby family lives on the really-real Klickitat Street. Other character names include Beezus/Beatrice, her big sister and friend Henry.
SARAH
Inspired by Sarah Winnemucca, the first indigenous woman to publish in English. A member of the Northern Paiute people, her given name was Thocmentony, meaning shell flower.
TABITHA
Often called the “Mother of Oregon,” Tabitha Moffatt Brown crossed the Oregon Trail to become an early American settler in the region.
RIVER
Born in Madras, Oregon, actor River Phoenix would become internationally famous at a young age, before his tragic death at the age of 23.
URSULA
Born in Berkeley, California, author Ursula Le Guin spent most of her adult life in Portland.
