Meaning & Story
Orlando is the Italian form of Roland — from the Old High German Hrodland meaning famous land (from hrod meaning fame/glory and land meaning land). It is one of the great romantic names of Renaissance literature, from Ariosto Orlando Furioso, and carries an enduring Italian Renaissance grandeur.
Orlando is a name that arrives in a cloud of Italian Renaissance glory. It is the name of mad knights and poetic heroes, of Shakespeare gender-bending forests and Virginia Woolf time-traveling protagonists. As a pet name, it suits a beautiful, spirited male companion with a certain dramatic flair and the kind of personality that makes everything around him feel more vivid. Pets named Orlando tend to be expressive, bold, and genuinely captivating.