The municipality of Orkland was originally a part of the municipality of Orkdal (see formannskapsdistrikt), but on 1 July 1920 it was separated from Orkdal to form a new municipality of its own. Initially, it had a population of 1,760. On 1 January 1963, the municipalities of Orkland, Orkanger, Orkdal, and Geitastrand were merged together to form a new, larger municipality of Orkdal. Prior to the merger, Orkland had a population of 1,707.