Gender: Masculine
Origin: Italian/Spanish

The name is an Italian form of the Germanic, Roland, meaning “famous land.” Orlando has been in usage in the English-speaking world since at least the 16th-century, most likely due to the character in Shakespeares As You Like It (1599). It also the name of the eponymous character of the Italian epic Orlando Furioso (circ. 1520).

The name has been borne by English composer, Orlando Gibbons (1582-1625), American general, Orlando Ward (1891-1972) and British actor, Orlando Bloom (b.1977).

It is also the name of a city in Florida, which, according to legend may have been named for the Shakespeare character or it could have been named for an American sentinel Orlando Reeves who was killed during the Seminole warrior.

Actor Orlando Bloom was named for Orlando Gibbons.

Currently, Orlando is the 425th most popular male name in Germany, (2011) and the 435th most popular in the United States, (2010).

A feminine form is Orlanda.