How Many People Are Named Opal?
An estimated 12,490 people in the United States have the first name Opal. It is predominantly female (99.0%). The average bearer is 44 years old, and Opal peaked in popularity in 1918 with 2,886 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Opal as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Opal paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Opal is overwhelmingly female, 718 male births have been registered with this name since 1880.
Estimated Living Americans
12,490
About 1 in 27,442 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Female
99.0% confidence
Average Age
44
years old
Peak Year
1918
2,886 births
Total Registered
73,512
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Opal
Opal is almost exclusively a female name. Out of 73,512 total births registered, 99.0% were female.
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)
Opal: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Opal span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1920s, when 21,797 babies were registered. Opal has declined significantly from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Opal by Decade
How has Opal tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 294 | 0 | 294 | |
| 1890s | 1,678 | 12 | 1,666 | |
| 1900s | 6,856 | 65 | 6,791 | |
| 1910s | 20,642 | 256 | 20,386 | |
| 1920s | 21,797 | 255 | 21,542 | |
| 1930s | 8,648 | 119 | 8,529 | |
| 1940s | 3,803 | 11 | 3,792 | |
| 1950s | 1,712 | 0 | 1,712 | |
| 1960s | 897 | 0 | 897 | |
| 1970s | 704 | 0 | 704 | |
| 1980s | 527 | 0 | 527 | |
| 1990s | 304 | 0 | 304 | |
| 2000s | 559 | 0 | 559 | |
| 2010s | 2,167 | 0 | 2,167 | |
| 2020s | 2,924 | 0 | 2,924 | |
Opal by State
Birth registrations for Opal span all 46 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in Texas, Oklahoma, Kentucky. The lowest are in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New Jersey. On average, about 1,309 Opals were registered per state.
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.
Names Similar to Opal
Other first names starting with O with a similar number of bearers.
Opal: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Opal?
We estimate approximately 12,490 people named Opal are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 27,442 Americans share this first name.
Is Opal a common name?
Opal is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 98% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 73,512 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Opal most popular?
Opal reached peak popularity in 1918, when 2,886 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Opal is approximately 44 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Opal a female name?
Opal is predominantly female. 99.0% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Opal Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Opal Smith, Opal Johnson, Opal Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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