Explore the Family Name Oreste

The meaning of Oreste

Italian, French, Haitian, and Hispanic (Philippines): from the Italian and French personal name Oreste, from Greek Orestēs (related to orestias ‘of the mountains’), in Greek mythology the name of the son of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon, a king of Mycenae.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Oreste in the United States?

The surname Oreste has seen an increase in popularity over the years, according to data from the Decennial U.S. Census. In 2000, it ranked 108,734 in terms of popularity, but by 2010, it had risen to the rank of 80,678 – an increase of approximately 25.8%. The number of people bearing the surname also increased from 151 in 2000 to 235 in 2010, marking a significant change of 55.63%. In terms of proportion per 100,000 people, there was a 33.33% increase from 0.06 in 2000 to 0.08 in 2010.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#108,734	#80,678	25.8%
Count	151	235	55.63%
Proportion per 100k	0.06	0.08	33.33%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Oreste

When it comes to ethnic identity, the distribution of the surname Oreste has varied as well, based on data from the Decennial U.S. Census. The portion of those identified as Asian/Pacific Islander decreased from 14.57% in 2000 to 11.06% in 2010, while the percentage of those identifying with two or more races fell to zero. In contrast, there was a notable increase in the percentage of those identifying as Black, rising from 31.13% in 2000 to 53.19% in 2010. Meanwhile, the percentage of those identifying as White dropped from 48.34% in 2000 to 30.21% in 2010. Additionally, in 2010, 3.83% identified as Hispanic, a category that didn't register any percentage in the year 2000.

	2000	2010	Change
Black	31.13%	53.19%	70.86%
White	48.34%	30.21%	-37.51%
Asian/Pacific Islander	14.57%	11.06%	-24.09%
Hispanic	0%	3.83%	0%
Two or More Races	3.97%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%