So with the 2023 social security stats dropping I naturally checked where my top names are. My boys names all mostly stayed put in their respective popularity, but my top girl’s choice, Opal, jumped up by about 50 spots. It seems to be typical ever since Opal rejoined the top 1000 in 2017, but with Opal being a top 100 name back 100 years ago, do we think it will get to that level of popularity again?
I’ve seen just from local social media groups that there’s at least two little Opals in my local area and IDK if I’m overinflating how popular it really is in my head because I love it and would prefer for it to be less popular. It’s at #488 as of 2023. They haven’t dropped the top names by state which I’m also interested to see, as the names I like always manage to be more popular locally, even when you’re trying to be somewhat unique, we all fall prey to the hivemind I guess lmao
It could, but I think it will be a while before it gets to that point (if it ever does) unless there’s a huge pop culture push. It definitely strikes me as a name that has very divergent regional popularity, so I think checking your state data and anecdotal evidence (like social media groups) is the way to go. Sounds like it’s much more common in your area than in mine!
From what I remember, it’s always been a bit of a divisive name on nameberry. Some people really like it (me included!), others find the sound stuffy or unappealing, which makes me think it won’t rise that much. On the other hand, O- names are definitely in, especially with [name_f]Olivia[/name_f] in number 1. Short buttoned-up names, not so much: many of the more popular girl names have an -a ending or a more flowy sound, quite different to [name_f]Opal[/name_f]. So do I see [name_f]Opal[/name_f] rising, yes, but the sound isn’t so on trend that I’d expect to see it in the top 100 anytime soon!
I think it will likely at least enter the top 250 by 2030 as it’s very on-brand with 1900-1920s names coming back into style (My grandmother’s name entered the top 10 in the last few years and she was born in the early 1920s).
However, it’s hard to say if it’ll break 100. While it’s on-brand and has the popular vowel-initial start, it’s also not quite as flowy/lengthy as many of the other popular ones (think Olivia, Eloise, Elowen) so it’ll be interesting to see where it lands! I think you’d be safe choosing it in the next couple years, though. I will be surprised if Eloise is not in the top 50 and Elowen/wyn in the top 300 by 2030.
I think it is possible [name_f]Opal[/name_f] will be a top 100-300 name in some places, like the [name_m]Pacific[/name_m] Northwest (I know two). We love our vintage word names here - [name_f]Juniper[/name_f], [name_f]Hazel[/name_f], [name_f]Willow[/name_f], [name_f]Ruby[/name_f], [name_f]Pearl[/name_f], [name_m]Rowan[/name_m] - as well as the O sound - [name_m]Otis[/name_m], [name_f]Margot[/name_f], [name_f]Marlowe[/name_f], [name_m]Theo[/name_m].