The Orel surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 349 people carried this name — #58,182 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 833,300 people counted. That is up 4% from 336 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Orel surname
From orel (“eagle”).
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Orel» (Czech), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 82 people named Orel.
1 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 21 départements, most often Meurthe-et-Moselle.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Poland’s population register
71 people named Orel have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 744 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 7 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Silesian.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
29 people named Orel live in Switzerland.
They live in 5 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Geneva.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
Who carried it
People named Orel,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Jožef Orel 1797–1874 · jurist -
Jožef Orel 1797–1874 · jurist
-
Eduard Orel 1841–1892 · discoverer -
František Orel d. 1945
-
Serhii Orel d. 2017
-
František Orel 1849–1927 · printer
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0).
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Orel.
- Orban 1,485 · U.S. census
- Ordas 252 · U.S. census
- Ordonez 18,498 · U.S. census
- Orduna 2,435 · U.S. census
- Ore 1,862 · U.S. census
- Orefice 709 · U.S. census
- Oren 1,766 · U.S. census
- Orengo 1,066 · U.S. census
- Orgel 387 · U.S. census
- Ori 613 · U.S. census
- Oria 380 · U.S. census
- Oriel 185 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Orel is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.