#1Politics & Law
Catherine Ashton
born 1956British politician (born 1956)
61 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Famous people · Orrell, Greater Manchester
Leaders stand out among the 24 famous people born in Orrell
Articles in 61 languages make the British politician Catherine Ashton the best known. Thomas Holland, 2nd Earl of Kent and David Gaskell follow. 10 of them were born since 1970, more than in any other period. The list comes to 10.3 for every 10,000 residents, against 5.3 in the typical town in Greater Manchester.
Born here
24
notable people
Best known
Catherine Ashton
in 61 Wikipedia languages
First
1350
Thomas Holland, 2nd Earl of Kent
Youngest
1993
Zac Thompson
Most common field
Sports
13 people
What stands out about Orrell’s famous people
★ What stands out · Through the years
When Orrell’s famous people were born
The 1980s top the chart, with 5 births in the decade.
SportsPolitics & LawFilm, TV & StageScience & MedicineWriting & Arts
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Known for
What Orrell is known for
Orrell has 2.4× the usual share of leaders.
The usual town: the share across everyone listed across UK towns. Tap a field to see its people.
The best known
Born in Orrell
Ranked by languages covered: Catherine Ashton with 61, then Thomas Holland, 2nd Earl of Kent with 12 and David Gaskell with 11.
#1TK#2
Politics & Law
Thomas Holland, 2nd Earl of Kent
1350–1397English nobleman
12 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
DG#3
Everyone
Everyone else born in Orrell
Another 21, the earliest born in 1370.
Richard James Arthur Berry
1867–1962British-born surgeon and anatomist well-known in Australia
Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
The neighbour with the most names is Wigan, at 327.
Wigan · 3 miLeon Osman & 326 more
Billinge · 3 miKen Owen & 17 moreJCAshton-in-Makerfield · 4 miJune Croft & 13 more
Haydock · 5 miEdmund Arrowsmith & 11 moreJASkelmersdale · 3 miJohn Anderton & 8 moreDORainford · 4 miDanny O'Donnell & 3 more
Standish · 4 miAshley Slanina-Davies & 3 moreEPAppley Bridge · 3 miEva Pope & 2 moreQuestions about famous people from Orrell
Who is the most famous person from Orrell?
Catherine Ashton (British politician (born 1956)) is the best known by our measure: Wikipedia has an article about them in 61 languages. Next come Thomas Holland, 2nd Earl of Kent and David Gaskell.
How many famous people were born in Orrell?
24 people born in Orrell have an English Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace. Wikidata places 30 people here; the rest aren’t listed because their article names somewhere else, or no town.
What is Orrell known for?
Among its famous people, athletes: 13 of the 24. That is 54% of the town’s list, against 49% across UK towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Orrell?
Thomas Holland, 2nd Earl of Kent, born in 1350. The youngest on the list was born in 1993.
Who counts as from Orrell?
People Wikidata records as born in a place inside Orrell’s built-up area (the ONS 2022 boundary), a hospital or district within it included, whose English Wikipedia article agrees. People who only lived here, adult performers and people known mainly for crimes aren’t listed.
Why is someone missing?
Their Wikidata birthplace may be a bigger area (“London”), another town, or missing, or their article may give no birthplace. We only list people both sources agree on; editing Wikidata or Wikipedia changes this page at the next refresh.
From Wikidata (CC0: birthplaces, descriptions, years, occupations) and English Wikipedia (each person’s article confirms the birthplace; linked, not quoted). Birthplaces are placed in the town by the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary (Office for National Statistics, Open Government Licence v3.0). Ranked by how many Wikipedia languages cover each person. Fields are read from Wikidata’s description and occupations. “The usual town”: everyone listed across UK towns. Portraits: each person’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (15)
- Catherine Ashton: ©House of Lords / photography by Roger Harris, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Lee Croft: Matlock-Photo from Derbyshire, England, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Zac Thompson: Jon Candy from Cardiff, Wales, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Eleanor Holland, Countess of Salisbury: Wrythe Garter Book, Buccleugh Handschrift, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Mickey Higham: Mortonstalker, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Charles Bamforth: Nastyned, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Jack Hughes: http://picasaweb.google.com/barrau.gerard, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Lemn Sissay: Philosophy Football, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Shaun Ainscough: andrew-rose, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Liam Colbon: Mortonstalker, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Stuart Littler: Ireland Rugby League Team.jpg: paddynapper derivative work: Lando09, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Leon Osman: The Bohs, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Ken Owen: Shadowgate, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Edmund Arrowsmith: Arrowsmith, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Ashley Slanina-Davies: Ian Smith, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.