Opal as a Name

Pronunciation
OH-pul Meaning: ‘precious gem’; ‘eye lotion’; ‘bearer of change’ Gender: Female or Male

Definition
Opal n. an amorphous form of hydrated silicon dioxide that can be of almost any colour. It may contain all the primary colours and many more tints and hues besides. It is used as a gemstone. [from Greek Opthalmios, ‘the eye stone’ or ‘eye lotion’; from Latin Opalus, Gk. Opallios ‘to see a change’, from Sanskrit Upala ‘precious stone’. Opal entered the english language as Opal around 1586] – Opaline adj.

ORIGIN AND HISTORY

A myth from the Aborigines of Australia tells of the birth of Opal: “…the creator came down to Earth on a rainbow, with a message of peace to all the people. And at the very spot, where his foot touched the ground, the stones became alive and started sparkling in all the colours of the rainbow.”

Opal is the embodiment of ‘ THE SPIRIT OF THE CHILD’ – To the ancient Greeks it was known as paederos, the derivation of this meant both ‘child’ and ‘favourite’ – inferring that it had the kind of peerless beauty of a child.

“VITZITZILTECPATL”, the Aztec term for Opal meaning “the hummingbird stone”, aptly refers to the likeness of the sheen and changing colours observed in the plumage of these enchanting birds.

“KALIMAYA” is the Indonesian name for Opal. Derived from the Sanskrit word ‘maya’ for illusion, and the Javanese ‘kali’ meaning river, this translates as “River of Illusion”.

Related Names: Opala – from Portuguese Opale – Germanic, Gallic and Italian spelling Opali – spelling of plural in Italian
Opalina – modern Latin languages version of adj. Opaline – adjective: colourful, playful & soothing
Oparu – pronunciation in Japanese Opall – differentiated English spelling
Opallios – from Greek Opalos – as the Mexicans call it in Spanish
Op(p)al(l)us – from Latin Opel – differentiated spelling
Ophal – olde English Opthalmos – from Greek Optallio – olde English Upala – from Sanskrit

POPULARITY

Gemstone names, such as Pearl or Ruby, became popular in the 19th century, but Opal was not one of the more fashionable of these names.

Opal has not appeared in the top 1000 baby names since 1960, when it ranked at number 920. Popularity dropped substantially in the 1950s, though popularity had been in decline for several decades.

The name Opal saw the height of its popularity in 1911, when it ranked at number 81.

Opal was occasionally used as a boy’s name in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but it was never as common for boys. In 1911, it ranked as number 885, but it has not appeared on the boy’s chart since then. Opal has maintained a bit more popularity in Australia. In 1997, it ranked at number 679. This is appropriate considering that Opal was proclaimed Australia’s National Gemstone in 1993, and Australia is the world’s main producer of Opal – ‘An Opal hearted country’!

Other Gemstone names, such as Amber and Jet have increased in popularity in the late 20th century, Opal may yet experience a revival.

BIRTHSTONES & ZODIACS

Opal is the birthstone for the month of October and is associated with the zodiac signs Libra, Leo and Aquarius.

Just as Opals are thought to bring luck if worn by a person born in October or under these signs it may be an appropriate name for babies born therein.

NAMESAKES

Opal, Virginia, USA
Opal, Wyoming, USA
Opal, Xinjiang, China
The Opals: Nickname for the Australia Women’s National Basketball Team.
Hurricane Opal: Category 4 hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico in 1995.
Opal: Online Programming for All Libraries
Opal Koboi: From the Artemis Fowl series of fictional novels by Eoin Colfer.
Opal Fire: Album by musician Omar
Opal Fish: Armored catfishes are found in Costa Rica, Panama and South America
Opal Glass: opalescent glass with a blueish tinge due to the dffraction of light by its internal structure
Opal Nero: Black Sambuca alcoholic spirits
Opal Rose: Opal Guitar inlayed & handcrafted by hollingworth guitars Australia
Opal Dream: Peter Cattaneo’s movie, starring Vince Colosimo
Opal Divine’s restaurants bar & pub at3 Austin Texas locations www.opaldivines.com
Opal: Lounge bar, DJ., 36 Gloucester Road, Kensington,www.opalbar.co.uk
HMAS Opal c.1885
Black Opal Stakes – Horse Racing Carnival, Canberra ACT

FAMOUS PERSONS

Opal Anchel: Actress
Opal Bush: Dallas Cowboy’s Cheerleader
Opal Hill: Professional Golfer
Opalinska Catherine: Queen of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1680-1747)
Opalinska Wanda: Plays Polish immigrant Wiki Dankowska on the BBC soap-opera “Coronation Street”