NameRealm
Opal

Opal: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning
“gem; precious stone”
Origin
Sanskrit
Say it
OH-puhl · 2 syllables
Used for
Girls

From the gemstone name, via Latin opalus and Greek opallios, ultimately probably from Sanskrit upala 'precious stone' or 'gem'. It belongs to the class of jewel names.

English namesNames meaning gemNames meaning beautyVintage namesNature names

How popular is Opal?

2024208 per million US babies
1880192019602000
Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Babies named Opal in 2024694

2024 rank#449 girls

Peak year1909

Total US babies since 188073,512

Opal is rising: use over the last five years is 5.5× what it was a decade earlier.

Names like Opal

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

  • Aryanoble; honorable · Sanskrit
  • Kalithe black one · Sanskrit
  • Alayadwelling, abode · Sanskrit
  • Ariyanoble · Sanskrit
  • Vedaknowledge · Sanskrit
  • Tarastar · Sanskrit
  • Anikagrace · Sanskrit
  • Aadhyafirst power · Sanskrit

Opal questions

What does the name Opal mean?

Opal means "gem; precious stone". It comes from Sanskrit. From the gemstone name, via Latin opalus and Greek opallios, ultimately probably from Sanskrit upala 'precious stone' or 'gem'. It belongs to the class of jewel names.

Is Opal a boy or girl name?

Opal is mainly a girl's name in US records (99% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Opal?

694 US babies were named Opal in 2024. Its peak year was 1909.

How do you pronounce Opal?

Opal is usually pronounced OH-puhl.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.