How rare is the name Opal?

13,016 people in the United States have the first name Opal, about 1 in 23,205. It ranks #2,084 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census.

first name

OPAL

#2,084

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
13,016
About
1 in 23,205
This common or more
78.4%
Who bears it

Of the 13,016 people named Opal, 77.5% reported their origin as White, 13.4% as Black and 4% as two or more races. 99.2% are female. These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Opal peaked in 1918, when 2,886 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
18802025
Peak year
1918
Births that year
2,886
In 2025*
740 ▼74%
Recorded as
almost entirely female

At least 74,257 babies have been given the name since 1880. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.

Opal by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1900s, when it ranked #134. The largest share of babies named Opal, 61.6%, were born between 1901 and 1927, the Greatest Generation's birth years.

1880s#681294
1890s#3121,678
1900s#1346,856
1910s#15620,642
1920s#21721,797
1930s#3828,648
1940s#7073,803
1950s#1,2761,712
1960s#1,916897
1970s#2,383704
1980s#3,305527
1990s#5,983304
2000s#4,986559
2010s#2,0862,167
2020s#1,0073,669
Before 19013.2%
Greatest Generation 1901–2761.6%
Silent Generation 1928–4519.3%
Baby boom 1946–644.6%
Generation X 1965–801.5%
Millennials 1981–960.9%
Generation Z 1997–121.3%
2013 and later7.5%

Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.

Where Opal is most common

Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Opal has been most common in Oklahoma (6.3×), West Virginia (5.4×), and Arkansas (5.3×), and least common in New York (0.04×).

60,928 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.

Either side of Opal

#2,082 Renae · 13,024#2,083 Julieta · 13,021#2,085 Chrystal · 13,010#2,086 Chantel · 13,006

Spelled almost the same

One first name in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Opal, most common first.

#43,210 Opel · 164

Also a last name

As a last name, Opal ranks #54,078 of 156,621, with 412 people. See Opal as a last name

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