Onyx
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Meaning
gemstone name, from Greek onyx meaning 'claw, fingernail'
The story
Onyx is the black gemstone with the least glamorous etymology in the case: the Greek onyx means claw or fingernail, the ancients seeing in the stone's banded sheen the look of a nail's lunula. American families see something else, and lately in volume: about 440 in the 2000s, 1,900 in the 2010s, and already 6,000 so far this decade, more than triple the full 2010s, one of the sharpest live surges in these batches. It cuts the same dark facets as Jett, the gem-and-speed register, and shares more generously: about 1,000 girls to 5,000 boys this decade. In our records the all-time split runs about 6,800 boys to 1,800 girls. A stone, a claw, and an X to land on: Onyx offers three kinds of edge in four letters, and the record shows families sharpening.
How popular is Onyx around the world?
In the United States, 6,039 babies were named Onyx between 2020 and 2025.
Onyx is on the official records of the United States, New Zealand, Canada, Scotland, England and Wales and South Australia.
United States
1 in 3,600
In the United States, 6,039 babies were named Onyx between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Onyx peaked in the 2020s. Onyx went to 159 US babies in 2015 and 1,036 in 2025, 6.5 times as many.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
New Zealand
1 in 4,100
In New Zealand, 14 boys named Onyx were registered in 2025.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Canada
1 in 7,200
In Canada, 45 boys named Onyx were born in 2024, the 607th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
Scotland
1 in 15,000
In Scotland, 3 boys named Onyx were registered in 2024, the 727th most common name among boys that year.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
England and Wales
1 in 16,000
In England and Wales, 31 boys named Onyx were born in 2025, the 976th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
South Australia
1 in 18,0002017
In South Australia, 1 boy was registered as Onyx in 2017.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Poland
last on record 2024
Onyx is not on the 2025 record for Poland, where names given fewer than 2 times in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
Puerto Rico
last on record 2009
Onyx is not on the 2025 record for Puerto Rico, which withholds births under 5, and 32 babies have carried the name there since 1998.
The count never rose above 8 in a year, too few to chart.
First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)
Not on the record in Spain, Mexico City, Argentina and Ireland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Austria record for 1984 to 2025: Statistik Austria publishes every first name down to a single birth, so this name was not given there in those years (before 2010 the record covers babies with Austrian citizenship only). Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Onyx
Most people given the name Onyx in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
The Onyx deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Onyx truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Onyx fits with your family’s names and surname.
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