Onyx
Onyx was the 365th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 881 babies. Its best year was 2023, when it ranked 307th with 1,079 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 1,061 places. More babies were named Onyx in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Meaning onyx (gemstone) · Greek, English
Say it AH-niks /ˈɑnɪks/
- Rank in 2025
- #365 boys, up 248 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 881boys
- Girls and boys
- 16% girls, 84% boys2021–2025
- Peak year
- 20231,079 babies
- Total since 1880
- 8,632babies recorded
What does the name Onyx mean?
Onyx is the name of a banded gemstone, used as a modern word name. The English word comes through Latin from Greek onyx, "fingernail, claw", apparently because the pale bands of the stone recall a fingernail. As a given name it is recent and used for both boys and girls.
ὄνυξ (Ancient Greek, “fingernail, claw”)
How sure is this? Well established. The word origin is clear; the reason for the Greek name (fingernail) is the usual explanation.
Related names: Onix.
See also: English names, names that mean jewel.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'onyx', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- CMU Pronouncing Dictionary (cmudict), Carnegie Mellon University
- US Social Security Administration, national baby-name data 1880-2025 (usage history only), US Social Security Administration
- Dictionary.com Unabridged (based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary), with Collins English Dictionary, s.v. 'onyx', Dictionary.com / Random House / HarperCollins
Onyx popularity since 1880
| Year | Rank (girls) | Rank (boys) | Babies (girls) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #1,410 | #365 | 155 | 881 |
| 2020 | #1,748 | #613 | 115 | 447 |
| 2010 | #6,128 | #2,230 | 22 | 59 |
| 2000 | #8,420 | #3,879 | 12 | 21 |
| 1990 | #9,014 | #7,841 | 9 | 6 |
| 1980 | — | — | — | — |
| 1970 | — | — | — | — |
| 1960 | — | — | — | — |
| 1950 | — | — | — | — |
| 1940 | — | — | — | — |
| 1930 | — | — | — | — |
| 1920 | — | — | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — |
How popular is Onyx, counting every spelling?
Onyx is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #367 for boys in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #365 for Onyx on its own. Together these spellings went to 920 boys in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Onyx | 881 | #365 | 4,596 |
| Onix | 22 | #4,661 | 121 |
| Onyxx | 17 | #5,548 | 98 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Onyx?
881 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Onyx (0.24 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Onyx born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 10 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Onyx.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Onyx?
About 6,800 people born in the US named Onyx are alive today, with a median age of 4; half are between 2 and 7. That makes Onyx a young name: most people with it are children.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Onyx by state
How common Onyx was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Nevada (2.3×), Oklahoma (1.8×), Ohio (1.8×), Georgia (1.8×), Iowa (1.7×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in New Hampshire, Delaware, New Jersey.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Onyx: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Onyx, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Onyx · Sibling names for Onyx
Questions about the name Onyx
What does Onyx mean?
Onyx means “onyx (gemstone)” (Greek, English origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Onyx?
Onyx was the 365th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 881 babies. Its best year was 2023, when it ranked 307th with 1,079 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 1,061 places. More babies were named Onyx in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Is Onyx a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, 16% girls, 84% boys given the name Onyx in the US.
Where is Onyx most popular?
In 2021–2025, Onyx was most common in Nevada (1.25 per 1,000 boys), followed by Hawaii and North Dakota.