A method is presented for a statistical analysis of the preferred orientation of a small sample of single crystals. The growth axes of the crystals, as plotted in stereographic projection, are grouped into cells subdividing the standard stereographic triangle and are analyzed in terms of a multinomial distribution subjected to a goodness‐of‐fit test with respect to an assumed distribution. The method is applied to a sample of 31 single crystals of sodium grown in small glass capillaries with a thermal gradient along the capillary axis. An assumed random distribution is subjected to a chi‐square test with the conclusion that it is not random, but has a ⟨111⟩ preferred orientation. The analysis of a smaller sample is exemplified by that of six sodium crystals taken from the literature. A random distribution hypothesis is subjected to a likelihood‐ratio test and is accepted in this case, although visual inspection might lead one to infer a ⟨100⟩ preference. The importance of the orientation of bcc sodium with respect to data on the orientation of fcc lead is also discussed.