Orr is a surname common throughout the English-speaking world, but especially in Scotland, Ulster, the United States, Canada, and northern England. The name is considered to have numerous origins: such as being derived from an Old Norse byname; a Gaelic nickname; and an Old English topographical name, or similar place-name.
There are numerous origins for the surname. The northern English, Scottish and Northern Irish surname is derived from the Old Norse byname Orri, meaning "blackcock" (a male black grouse). Another origin for the Scottish name is from the Gaelic odhar, meaning "pale", "dun". Another origin for the English name is from a topographical name for a person who lived on a shore, or ridge. This name is derived from the Old English ora, meaning "shore", "hill-slope", "flat-topped ridge". The name could also be derived from a place-name, derived from this Old English word; for example, the surname Ore is derived from Oare, in Berkshire, Kent; and Wiltshire; or Ore, in East Sussex. Padraig Mac Giolla Domhnaigh, suggested that the Irish surname originates from an Anglicisation of Gaelic Mac Iomhaire. Mac Giolla Domhnaigh stated that this was an old name from Renfrewshire, and a sept of the Campbells; he stated that the name was earlier spelt Mac Ure.
In Ireland the name is common only in Ulster, and mainly found in County Antrim, County Down, County Londonderry and County Tyrone. The first recorded evidence of the name in Ulster is of those who came from Scotland with Sir Hugh Montgomery in 1606 to settle in North Down on lands ceded by the O'Neill family. They were chiefly Presbyterian, with some Episcopalians, and a few Roman Catholics and Quakers. According to Bell, the earliest record of the name in Ireland is that of a family in County Tyrone in 1655. However, according to Orr, the earliest record of the name in Ireland is of Richard Orr of Clontarf in 1563.
In Scotland, the name is first known to have been recorded in Renfrewshire. Historian Edward MacLysaght suggests that the name in Scotland derives from the parish of Orr in Kirkcudbrightshire. Indeed, the River Orr flowed through the area. A tradition of some of the Orrs in Northern Ireland has it that they were descended from outlawed brothers whose original family name was McLean; they crossed this river and then made their way by boat to Donaghadee in County Down in the early 17th century. Having escaped persecution, they took river's name as their surname and settled in Newtownards.
Aki Orr (1931-2013), Israeli writer and activist
Alexander D. Orr (1761–1835), American farmer and politician
Alexander Ector Orr (1831–1914), pioneer of the New York City subway system
Alice Orr-Ewing (born 1989), British actress
Alice Greenough Orr (1902–1995), American rodeo star
Andy Orr (born 1980), member of the Irish band Six
Sir Archibald Orr-Ewing, 1st Baronet (1847–1893), Scottish politician
Ashley Rose Orr (born 1990), American actress
Benjamin Orr (1947–2000), bass guitarist of The Cars
Benjamin Orr (Massachusetts politician) (1772–1828), American politician
Bobby Orr (born 1948), Canadian Hall-of-Fame ice hockey player
Bradley Orr (born 1982), English footballer
Buxton Orr (1924–1997), British composer
C. Rob Orr (born 1950), American swimmer and coach
Charles Lindsay Orr-Ewing (1860–1903), Scottish politician
Charles Wilfred Orr (1893–1976), English composer
Christopher Orr (disambiguation), several people
Colton Orr (born 1982), Canadian ice hockey player
Danny Orr (born 1979), English rugby league footballer
Danny Orr (born 1989), Little Tiny Hands
Dave Orr (1859–1915), American baseball player
David Orr (born 1944), American politician
David Malcolm Orr (born 1953), UK civil engineer
David W. Orr, American professor of environmental studies and politics
David Orr (journalist) (born 1974), American journalist and poetry reviewer
David Orr (businessman) (1922–2008), Anglo-Irish businessman, philanthropist and World War II veteran
Deborah Orr (born 1962), British newspaper columnist
Douglas Orr (1892–1966), American architect
Emma Restall Orr (born 1965), British neo-druid
Eric Orr (1939-1998), American artist
Gary Orr (born 1967), Scottish golfer
Gregory Orr (filmmaker) (born 1954), American writer and director
Gregory Orr (poet) (born 1947), American poet
Gustavus Orr (1819–1887), early pioneer for public education in Georgia
H. Allen Orr, American professor
James Lawrence Orr (May 12, 1822 – May 5, 1873) was an American politician who served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives in the United States Congress. Also served in the Confederate Congress. Financed Orr's Palmetto Sharpshooters SC MiIlitia. Served as the 73rd Governor of South Carolina and Ambassador to Russia.
James Orr (disambiguation), several people
Jimmy Orr (born 1935), American football player
John Orr (disambiguation), several people
Johnny Orr (basketball, born 1927) (born 1927), American basketball coach
Jonathan Orr (born 1983), American football player
Kay A. Orr (born 1939), American politician
Leonard Orr (born c. 1938), American developer of "Rebirthing-breathwork"
Louis Orr (born 1958), American basketball coach and former player
M. A. Orr (1867–1949), British astronomer and Dante scholar, aka "Mary Ackworth Orr Evershed"
Margaret Orr, American television meteorologist
Marion Alice Orr (1918–1995), Canadian aviator
Mary Orr (1910–2006), American author
Matthew Orr (born 1962), British entrepreneur
Pete Orr (born 1979), Canadian baseball player
Philip Orr (born 1950), Irish Rugby International prop-forward
Robert Orr (disambiguation), several people
Robin Orr (1909–2006), Scottish composer
Rodney Orr (died 1994), American NASCAR driver
Shantee Orr (born 1981), American football player
Sheena Shirley Orr (born 1959), original name of Scottish singer Sheena Easton
Stephens Orr, Scottish photographer
Sydney Sparkes Orr (1914–1966), British/Australian philosopher
Vickie Orr (born 1967), American basketball player
Virgil Orr (born 1923), Louisiana educator and politician
Warren H. Orr (1888-1962), American jurist and politician
Warren Orr, Australian rugby league footballer
Wesley Fletcher Orr (1831–1898), Canadian businessman, journalist and politician
William Orr (disambiguation), several people
William McFadden Orr (1866–1934), Irish mathematician
William T. Orr (1917–2002), American television producer
Wyc Orr (1946-2014), American politician and lawyer
Orr, bomber pilot in Catch-22
George Orr, protagonist in the novel The Lathe of Heaven
