apparently Andy Griffith and Sheldon Leonard named Opie Taylor after a radio personality Opie Cates that Andy listened to growing up . Cates , according to Wikipedia, was a clarinet player,band leader and radio actor whose real name was Opal Taft Cates - so it would seem that for Cates, Opie was an affectionate form of Opal although Opie is still a genuine name in its own right as evidenced by my preceeding blog.
