Opal

Where Opal comes from

The dictionaries list Opal as a given name — a unisex given name from English from the precious stone, invented in the nineteenth century — but don't trace where it came from. The record below is what the SSA data shows.

  • English
Along the way
  1. 1880
    First SSA year
    Already #836 among girls — 5 babies in the first year on record.
  2. 1894
    Opal Kunz born
    American aviator
  3. 1911
    Peak, #81
    1,190 babies named Opal — more than any year before or since.
  4. 1938
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #263.
  5. 1954
    Opal Palmer Adisa born
    American poet and academic
In the dictionary
  • A unisex given name from English from the precious stone, invented in the nineteenth century.
  • A female given name from English from the precious stone, invented in the nineteenth century.
  • A male given name from English from the precious stone, invented in the nineteenth century.
Namesakes
  • Opal Kunz · American aviator, 1894–1967
  • Opal Palmer Adisa · American poet and academic, born 1954
  • Opal Sofer · Israeli association footballer, born 1997
  • Opal Lee · African-American retired teacher, counselor, and activist, born 1926
  • Opal Irene Whiteley · American writer, 1897–1992

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.