What Does the Name Orville Mean?

Orville is a boy's name of French (literary coinage) origin meaning “gold town.”

Updated June 2026

Name	Orville
Gender	male
Origin	French (literary coinage)
Meaning	gold town
Variants	Orval, Orv
Popularity	Modestly used in the United States in the early 20th century; now very rare.

The meaning and origin of Orville

The name Orville means “gold town” and has French (literary coinage) origins. Apparently coined by the 18th-century novelist Fanny Burney for a character in her novel 'Evelina', perhaps intended to mean 'golden city' from French 'or' (gold) and 'ville' (town). It is famously borne by aviation pioneer Orville Wright.

Variants and related names

Orville is related to several other names you may recognize: Orval, Orv. These share a common root or are spelling and language variants of the same name.

How popular is the name Orville?

Modestly used in the United States in the early 20th century; now very rare.

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