Opal
Masculine · “the gemstone opal”
Opal is given to girls far more often — 73,539 girls against 718 boys since 1880. See Opal as a girl name
Opal is one of the gem names that came into American use around the turn of the last century, was given to daughters and sons both, and has come back into ordinary use after a long absence. The stone it names turns out to work in a way nobody could explain until there was a microscope good enough to see it.
How old is the name Opal?
Opal first appears in US birth records in 1896 — 129 years ago. The typical Opal alive today was born around 1920, making them about 105 years old. Fewer than a hundred people named Opal are estimated to be alive in the US today — a true one-of-a-kind name.
When was the name Opal most popular?
Opal peaked in 1910, reaching #782 nationally. See the whole 1910 chart.
Where it comes from
From upala to Opal
The story of Opal
An opal is not a crystal. It is silica that never organized itself into one — hardened jelly, in effect, holding as much as a fifth of its weight in water, which is why an opal can craze and crack if it dries out. The colors are not a pigment and not an impurity. Under an electron microscope, which is what it took to settle the question in the nineteen-sixties, a precious opal is made of microscopic spheres of silica stacked in a regular three-dimensional array, like oranges in a crate. Light entering the stack is diffracted by it, and the size of the spheres decides which colors come back: small spheres give blues, larger ones reach red. Common opal has the same chemistry and randomly sized spheres, so it does nothing. The difference between a stone worth thousands and a stone worth nothing is whether a jelly happened to set tidily.
Meaningscholars disagree
the gemstone opal
The name is the stone's, and the stone's own name is disputed. One account traces it through Latin opalus from a Sanskrit word for a stone or a jewel; another derives it from a Greek word about seeing. The two are not compatible and neither has been settled.
How the name formed
- upala
- opalus
- Opal
Related forms: Opale · Opal
Pronouncing Opal
OH-pul
Two syllables with the stress at the front. The second syllable is reduced almost to nothing, which is why it is sometimes written with an e or an a in older records.
Nicknames for Opal
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1896
- Most boys named
- 191839 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #782reached in 1910
- Change vs 1942
- −16.7%5 in 1944, from 6
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Opal in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Opale in French — same name
- Opal in German — same name
Opals among us
Fewer than a hundred people named Opal are estimated to be alive in the US today — a true one-of-a-kind name.
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Opal sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- It names a real thing with a real and interesting physical story behind it.
- Two syllables with front stress is the plainest and most durable shape English has.
- Nobody needs to be taught either the spelling or the pronunciation.
- It is coming back into use, so a classroom may hold more than one.
- The old superstition about opals being unlucky is still repeated by some people.
- It was recorded for sons as well in its earliest decades, though almost never now.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Opal to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Opal? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Opal
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Opals are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. Fewer than a hundred people named Opal are estimated to be alive in the US today — a true one-of-a-kind name.
- How popular is the name Opal in 2025?
- Opal is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Opal with classmates?
- Opal will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More O names
The most-given names starting with O, all years combined.
Oliver#3 · Owen#31 · Oscar#223 · Omar#260 · Otis#652 · Orlando#871 · Otto#277 · Orville#6143
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Opal? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Opal and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle