Did OJ ever say where his name came from? Was it just a coined name, or were there previous (reasonably-documented) Orenthals?
An “Anne Marie Orenthal” was born in 1686: http://perso.wanadoo.fr/daniel.gering/dat2.htm#15
Now, “Oren” is claimed to be a Hebrew given name that means “pine tree” and could be related to the name “Orrin”, but I doubt attempts by baby books to have “Orenthal” mean “tall pine tree”.
So, the name is documented to the 17th century as a family name. When “Orenthal” became a given name, I don’t know, but it wouldn’t be the first time a family name becomes a given name. “Douglas”, for example, went from a family name to a girl’s name–then switched over to being a boy’s name.
Somebody named Orenthal Edwards was born in 1932, 15 years before Simpson. He is buried in Rock Island National Cemetery: http://www.interment.net/data/us/il/rockisland/rocknat/index_e.htm
“If OJ drove a bus, he wouldn’t even be OJ. He’d be Orenthal the bus-driving murderer.” - Chris Rock
Simpson has said that his mother named him after an actor she saw named Orenthal.
A search through an all-name index to the 1930 U.S. census shows an Orenthal Powell, age 9, negro, living in Oklahoma; and an Orinthal Anderson, also age 9, negro, in Texas.
The same index shows no person with Orenthal, Orenthall, or Orinthal as a surname in the U.S.
The Social Security Death Index shows an Orenthal Y. Hamilton, born in 1930, whose Social Security number was issued in Texas. No person with the surnames Orenthal, Orenthall, or Orinthal.
A head-of-household index to the 1920 U.S. census has an Orenthal Anderson, 17, mulatto, born in Texas, living in Oklahoma.
The Mormon Church’s International Genealogical Index, the world’s largest vital records index, has no entry for Orenthal (or variants) as a first name or surname in North America, Continental Europe, or the British Isles.