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BabyNames
Girl name#443 of girl names

Opal

Pronounced OW1 P AH0 L (ARPABET)

  • 2 syllables
  • Peaked 1918
  • 145 years in use
  • 1 spelling
Compare

How popular is Opal?

Opal is a girls' name, and has been in the record since the data starts in 1880. It has been given to 74,092 children — the 443rd most common girls' name on record.

It peaked in 1918, went quiet for most of a century, and is climbing again. Its best single year was 1918, when 2,873 children were given it.

Ople is counted with it here, since the two are pronounced identically.

01,2502,5003,7505,00018901920195019802010
1918Girls: 2,873Boys: 44

Spelling variants

These spellings sound identical to Opal and are counted together with it, which is why the totals here are higher than a single-spelling count.

  • Ople

Characteristics

  • 2 syllables
Phonetic detail
Pronunciations:
OW1 P AH0 L
Stress pattern:
10
Syllables:
2

Stress digits mark unstressed (0), primary (1) and secondary (2) syllables.

Names like Opal

Same first letter and syllable count, peaking around the same time.

Sibling names for Opal

Names from the same era with a matching rhythm but a different initial.

Frequently asked questions

How popular is the name Opal?
Opal ranks 443rd among girls' names in US records, with 74,092 births since 1880. Over the past decade it accounts for 4,503.
Is Opal a unisex name?
No. Opal is recorded almost entirely as a girls' name; births to the other gender are too few to register as a share.
When was Opal most popular?
1918, when 2,873 children were given the name. It has been in use for 145 years and is still recorded as of 2024.
How else is Opal spelled?
Ople. All of these sound the same and are counted together in the totals on this page.