Opal Brown
There are approximately 58 people named Opal Brown living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 5,909,558 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Opal with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Brown. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
58
1 in 5,909,558
Named Opal
12K
Alive today
Named Brown
1.6M
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 12K
Rarity: Uncommon
Gender: Female
Peak year: 1918
Average age: 44
Top Census group: White (77.5%)
Estimated bearers: 1.6M
Rarity: Very Common
Census rank: #4
Per 100K: 463.73
Top ancestry: White (55.4%)
First name trend
Opal: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Opal. The peak year was 1918 with 2,886 births. The average person named Opal today is 44 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Opal
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Opal, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is White at 77.5%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Opal described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the name Opal at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White77.5% · 10,080
- Black or African American13.4% · 1,746
- Two or more races4.0% · 523
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 382
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 138
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 137
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Brown surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Brown, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 55.4%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Brown described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the surname Brown at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White55.4% · 768,332
- Black or African American34.7% · 480,749
- Two or more races4.8% · 66,938
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 49,166
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 11,738
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 9,160
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Opal has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0036% of the US population, based on 12,490 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
Even though the Census Bureau now publishes first-name tables, we do not use that file as the main first-name input for this estimate. The latest first-name Census snapshot is from 2020, which makes it 6 years old today. Because Census first-name data is only released once every 10 years, SSA birth records plus CDC survival rates give a better current estimate of how many people are likely alive with the name Opal right now.
The surname Brown appears at a rate of 463.73 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.4637%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 58 people with the full name Opal Brown. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Opal
Related
Other people with the surname Brown
FAQ
Opal Brown: questions and answers
How many people are named Opal Brown?
We estimate approximately 58 people in the United States share the full name Opal Brown. That works out to about 1 in 5,909,558 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0036%) with the surname frequency (463.73 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Opal Brown?
We classify Opal Brown as "Very Rare". About 1 in 5,909,558 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Opal a male or female name?
Opal is predominantly female. Out of 73,512 total SSA registrations, 1.0% were male and 99.0% were female. See the full Opal profile for detailed gender data.
Where does this data come from?
First-name data comes from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files (1880 to 2024). Surname data comes from the 2020 US Census Bureau decennial surname tables. Living-bearer estimates use CDC actuarial life tables to adjust for mortality. Read the full methodology.
How common is the name Opal Brown?
You can see how many people are called Opal Brown on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.