Opal
A feminine name of Greek origin referring to the opal gemstone.
Name Census estimates that about 12,490 living Americans carry the first name Opal. It sits at #450 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. It is a predominantly female name (99.0% of registrations). The average person named Opal today is around 44 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Opal births was 1918 (2,886 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Opal. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Although Opal is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 718 boys registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
12K
~ 1 in 27,442 Americans
Peak year
1918
2,886 babies that year
Average age
44
years old
1944 SSA rank
#450
Tracked since 1880
Gender
Gender distribution for Opal
Out of the 73,512 babies given the name Opal since 1880, 99.0% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Opal as a male name
- Ranked #3,782 in 1944
- 5 male births in 1944
- Peak: 1918 (39 births)
Opal as a female name
- Ranked #450 in 2024
- 694 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1918 (2,847 births)
Popularity
Opal: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Opal from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 21,797 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Opal by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Opal during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Opals live
The SSA's state-level files cover 46 states and territories. Texas, Oklahoma, Kentucky recorded the most babies named Opal, while New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New Jersey recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 1,309 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Opal
The name Opal has its origins in the Sanskrit word "upala," which means "precious stone." This word was adopted into Greek as "opallios" and later into Latin as "opalus." The name was likely inspired by the beautiful gemstone of the same name, known for its remarkable play of colors.
The earliest recorded use of the name Opal dates back to ancient Rome, where it was used as a gemstone name. However, its use as a given name did not become widespread until the 19th century, when it gained popularity in English-speaking countries.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Opal was Opal Whiteley, an American writer and diarist born in 1897. Her diary, published in 1920, gained considerable attention and sparked debates about its authenticity.
Another notable Opal from history was Opal Kunz (1894-1967), an American architect and one of the first women to establish a successful architectural practice in the United States. She was known for her residential and commercial designs in the Los Angeles area.
In the realm of literature, Opal Plath (1905-1963) was an American novelist and poet, best known for her novel "The Curve of the Tusk." She was also the mother of the famous poet Sylvia Plath.
Opal Tometi (born 1984) is a contemporary American human rights activist and co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement. She has been widely recognized for her advocacy work and has received numerous awards and honors.
Opal Priscilla Tometi (1917-1994) was an American civil rights activist and educator from Oklahoma. She played a significant role in desegregating public schools in the state and advocated for equal educational opportunities for African American students.
The name Opal has been associated with various historical figures who have made their mark in different fields, ranging from literature and architecture to activism and civil rights. Its connection to the precious gemstone has added to its allure and enduring popularity as a given name.
People
Opal + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Opal as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with O
Other first names starting with O with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Opal: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Opal?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 12,490 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Opal going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 27,442 US residents.
Is Opal a common name?
We classify Opal as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 73,512 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Opal most popular?
The single biggest year for Opal was 1918, when 2,886 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Opal is about 44 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Opal a female name?
Yes, 99.0% of people registered as Opal in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.