Orly comes from Hebrew and means 'my light.'
Orly is a Hebrew name meaning "my light," derived from the root "or" (אוֹר), meaning light — one of the oldest and most resonant words in the Hebrew lexicon, famously the first thing called into being in Genesis. The possessive suffix "-ly" (or "-li") transforms the word into an intimate declaration: not simply "light" in the abstract, but light that belongs to the speaker, light that is personal and relational. It is a name that positions the child as a source of illumination in the life of those who love them.
Orly has been primarily used among Hebrew speakers in Israel and in Jewish diaspora communities, where it carries the warmth of a name both modern-sounding and linguistically ancient. It belongs to a family of light-root Hebrew names — Orli, Orit, Ora, Uri — that have been popular in Israel since the mid-twentieth century. The name also appears in Sephardic naming traditions, where it has sometimes been bestowed on children born during Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, deepening its luminous associations.
In a geographical coincidence of considerable charm, Orly is also the name of a commune south of Paris and the site of Paris-Orly Airport, one of France's major international gateways. This dual identity — Hebrew given name and French place name — gives Orly an unexpected cosmopolitan resonance for non-Hebrew speakers encountering it. In contemporary usage, the name has grown beyond specifically Jewish communities, appealing to parents drawn to its brevity, its soft sound, and the quiet radiance of its meaning.