The Orellana surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 26,651 people carried this name — #1,319 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 11,100 people counted. That is up 78% from 14,943 in 2000.
Where the name comes from
The origin of the Orellana surname
Probably of Basque origin, or from the town of Orellana in Badajoz, Spain, possibly from Latin Aureliana, see also Orell.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Orellana» (Spanish), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 48,187 people named Orellana live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
108 people named Orellana live in Switzerland.
They live in 7 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Vaud.
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.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 24 people named Orellana.
Most of them — 17 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 4 départements, most often Paris.
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 the Nordic population registers
78 people named Orellana is counted in Sweden.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).
In print
Orellana in American newspapers,
1892–1914.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 1,954 pages in all carry the name.
In print
Orellana in Australian newspapers,
1890s–1930s.
35 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Orellana. The most, 20, date from the 1930s.
Articles, by state
Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Orellana.
Who carried it
People named Orellana,
with a public archive behind them.
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Pedro Nicomedes Campos de Orellana 1815–1887 · politician -
Francisco José Orellana 1820–1891 · writer -
Carlos Orellana 1900–1960 · screenwriter
Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 108 lives in all are documented under this name.
In the public record
People named Orellana,
in the records of 3 countries.
Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.
United States96 records
- U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 82
- U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 6
- New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 5
- U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 2
- Sacramento County historic burials 1
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Example: U.S. registration card, 1942 Military record Edward OrellanaBorn 1920 in Texas. Enlisted 1942 at Fort Bliss El Paso; kitchen worker from El Paso County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1998, buried at Fort Bliss National Cemetery, Texas.
U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) -
Example: U.S. burial record, 1864 Burial record Abraham OrellanaU.S. Marine Corps veteran. Born 1939, died 1978; buried at Long Island National Cemetery, New York.
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) -
Example: U.S. alien registration card, 1940s Alien registration Carmen M. OrellanaBorn 1876 in El Salvador. Registered as a foreign national in Redwood City, California, under the Alien Registration Act of 1940.
U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain)
Showing 3 of 96 records for Orellana in the United States.
Counts: U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain); Alien Registration Receipt Card, Form AR-3, photo by Bobjgalindo via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0).
France5 records
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Example: French death register, 1930 Death record Ana OrellanaBorn 1928 in Spain; died 2001 in Bagneux (Hauts-de-Seine).
Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte) -
Example: French death register, 1930 Death record Jose OrellanaBorn 1948 in Perpignan (Pyrénées-Orientales); died 1998 in Pontoise (Val-d'Oise).
Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte) -
Example: French death register, 1930 Death record Maria De Los OrellanaBorn 1910 in Spain; died 1997 in Pierre-Bénite (Rhône).
Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
Showing 3 of 5 records for Orellana in France.
Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).
Australia1 record
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Example: probate petition, 1848 Probate record Crescencia Maria OrellanaMachinist of Bulleen, Victoria; died 1997.
Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Orellana.
- Ordonez 18,498 · U.S. census
- Orduna 2,435 · U.S. census
- Ore 1,862 · U.S. census
- Orefice 709 · U.S. census
- O'Reilly 12,074 · U.S. census
- Orel 349 · 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 Orellana 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.