Meaning and background
The story behind Opal
Opal is a gemstone word adopted as a given name. Its shifting flashes of colour are a property of precious opal, but not of every specimen. The English word entered through Latin and French forms, with a possible older Sanskrit connection that etymologists treat cautiously. It is best understood as a direct jewel name rather than a translation meaning luck, creativity or some other personal quality.
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Everyday moments“Opal, come here!”
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About Opal
Recorded as a dog’s name
Opal appears in 19 dog licence records in the 2026 New York City dataset.
How to read this count
These records cover New York City and may count the same dog in more than one licence period. They are not a national popularity ranking.
Pronunciation and rhythm
/oʊpəl/
US English sound sequence, converted from the CMU dictionary. Stress marks are shown separately.
Stress on the first syllable in the recorded US readings.
View dictionary notation
/oʊpəl/ · primary stress on syllable 1OW1 P AH0 L
These are US dictionary readings. Personal, regional and other language pronunciations may differ.
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Sources and research notes (2)
- New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene NYC Dog Licensing Dataset — extract_year 2026 — Dog licence periods, not unique dogs; NYC only. No owner-level fields retrieved.
- Carnegie Mellon University / CMU Sphinx maintainers CMU US English Pronouncing Dictionary — US English dictionary readings; not owner-specific or exhaustive multilingual pronunciation
References support the individual facts shown. A source link does not mean the entire profile has been verified.