Opal carries 72,794 cumulative American girls on SSA record, sits at rank 450 today, and reached its peak in 1918. The chart traces a sharp early-twentieth-century climb during the gem-name surge, a sustained 1910s-1920s plateau, a long mid-century decline through the 1960s through 1990s, and a clear 2010s-2020s revival as American parents have rediscovered Edwardian-era gem and flower names.
The Sanskrit source
Opal comes from the Sanskrit upala, meaning "precious stone," through the Latin opalus and Greek opallios. The word entered English in the late medieval period and the gem itself has been valued for over two thousand years for its play-of-color phenomenon. The use of Opal as a personal name began in the late nineteenth century during the Edwardian gem-name fashion.
Opal is the birthstone for October, which gives the name a small but meaningful seasonal anchor for autumn-born babies. The book Because of Winn-Dixie (2000) features a girl named Opal as protagonist, and the 2005 film adaptation gave the name a contemporary literary anchor for a generation of younger readers.
The gem-revival cluster
Opal sits with Ruby, Pearl, Violet, and Iris in the Edwardian gem and flower cluster currently in deep American revival. Browse the 1910s decade list for cluster context, or scan the rising names chart for adjacent climbers.
The counter-reading
The age skip is the practical question. Opal effectively disappeared from mainstream American use for two full generations, which means contemporary Opals are either over ninety or under ten with very little middle ground. Some parents read that as exactly the appeal; others find the dramatic generational gap heavier than the more visibly trending Pearl or Ruby. The two-syllable OH-pul rhythm is short, soft, and travels well.