The Oranges locally /ˈɑːrəndʒɪz/ are a group of four municipalities in Essex County, New Jersey, all of which have the word Orange in their name. All of these communities were named for William III of Orange, Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, and from 1689 till 1712 King of England, Ireland, and Scotland. The four municipalities are the City of Orange Township, City of East Orange, Township of South Orange Village and Township of West Orange.
Orange was initially a part of Newark, but it was originally known as "Newark Mountains". On June 7, 1780, the townspeople of Newark Mountains officially voted to adopt the name Orange. At the time, there was a significant number of people in favor of secession from Newark. However, this would not occur until November 27, 1806, when the township of Orange—then including all of the territory encompassing all of the Oranges—officially separated from Newark. Orange was incorporated as a town on January 31, 1860. Almost immediately, it began fragmenting into smaller communities, primarily because of local disputes about the costs of establishing paid police, fire, and street departments. South Orange was organized on January 26, 1861, Fairmount (later to become part of West Orange) on March 11, 1862, East Orange on March 4, 1863, and West Orange (including Fairmount) on March 14, 1863.