Ophelia has recently returned to the US Top 1000 after six decades’ absence.
Thanks to Natalie for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day.
Ophelia: Hamlet
Chances are you know something about William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, if only famous snippets like “To thine own self be true.”
You probably also know that Ophelia is the ill-fated girlfriend of the Prince of Denmark.
The name comes from the Greek ophelos – help or aid. Italian poet Jacopo Sannazaro used it for his 1480 poem Arcadia, with the spelling Ofelia. Sannazaro wrote about leaving the city for the countryside.
Sannazaro was widely read, and it is likely that Shakespeare borrowed the name from Arcadia.
After all, Hamlet’s Ophelia needed a lot of help. Her story is one of an innocent girl, who suffers mightily, goes mad, and ends the story in a watery grave.
Some suggest that Shakespeare based part of the story on an accidental drowning of another girl in the Avon River. (There are two candidates, though their names are Jane and Katherine.)
The tragic character has been painted by artists, referenced in novels, and ultimately became the symbol of teenaged girls’ struggles in Mary Pipher’s 1994 bestseller Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls.
The name speaks volumes – about the hazards of love, the nature of young women, romantic ideals about death, and depictions of insanity.
Ophelia: Former Favorite
All of that baggage might be why parents have avoided the name for decades.
Except it wasn’t always so. There’s a second literary Ophelia, a character from Harriet Beecher Stowe’s enduring 1852 novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin.
Back in 1880, the name was in the Top 250. It remained in the same range until the late 1920s, and in the Top 1000 until 1958.
By the 1960s, the name was considered outlandish and out-of-step. It was used for Morticia’s sister in The Addams Family comic strip and later television series. Marvel gave the name to a villain in 1969.
Ophelia: Ofelia
You’ll come across stories about a saint by the name, but if there’s any historical basis for her, I couldn’t find it.
It’s also a significant name in Warhammer.
Ophelia: Revival
This name has been slowly, steadily gaining in use throughout the twenty-first century.
Guillermo del Toro wrote and directed dark fantasy movie Pan’s Labyrinth in 2006. The story features a heroic young Ofelia.
Dave Grohl gave the name to his youngest daughter in 2014, and E!’s first original series, The Royals, features a character by the name.
But those uses aren’t why the name is catching on. Ophelia fits in beautifully with Olivia, Amelia, and many of the elaborate, ends with -lia names so in favor today.
So it’s no surprise that 276 girls were named Ophelia in 2015, enough to re-enter the US Top 1000 after decades of obscurity.
For now, the name remains rare enough that it’s still a great choice for a daughter. But the question is simply this: with so many similar names in the Top 100, how high will this name climb? After all, Jessica and Olivia are names from Shakespeare, too.
Do you think Ophelia will climb quickly? Would you consider this name for a daughter? Do you think the story from Hamlet is a problem?
This post was originally published on June 18, 2008. It was substantially revised and re-posted on May 10, 2016.
Madelyn says
May 10, 2016 at 6:51 PMI’m a huuuuge fan of Ofelia, so I was quite happy to see Ophelia had finally made her return to the top 1000. Gone are the days when such an occurrence would make me nervous that a name is getting “too popular.” Now, I’m happy when people use names that I like. But back to Ofelia/Ophelia. I prefer Ofelia because I like the Spanish pronunciation, and I like the connection to “Pan’s Labyrinth.” If I ever get the chance to use it, I think she would be shortened to Fae in my family.
Unrelated, but is anyone else experiencing problems with the site because of all the video ads and the moving banner? My computer can’t take it anymore.
Amy3 says
May 11, 2016 at 11:34 AMThe site is ok on my computer, but I definitely can’t visit from my phone. 🙁
April says
May 11, 2016 at 2:33 PMi have to visit the site in Chrome because it crashes all other browsers and it sometimes still crashes this one.
Allure says
May 11, 2016 at 6:12 PMI also knew a Ofelia, she went by Fela though
appellationmountain says
May 12, 2016 at 8:36 AMHi Madelyn – Would you let me know which browser you’re using? I checked with my ad server, and they don’t see a problem, but the more information I can give the better, and they’re usually pretty good about keeping things running. Thanks!
Madelyn says
May 12, 2016 at 6:57 PMI’m currently using Firefox. Should I switch back over to Chrome?
appellationmountain says
May 12, 2016 at 8:02 PMActually, I just talked to my ad server and they think they found a potential problem. They’re working on it now, and they’re usually super quick – so it should be resolved shortly. Again, thanks for letting me know – these things are almost impossible to find from my side.
Emily says
May 10, 2016 at 12:16 PMCorrection: the song is by the Lumineers
Allure says
May 10, 2016 at 12:58 PMthere’s also a song called “Sweet Ophelia” by Zella Day
Emily says
May 10, 2016 at 11:02 AMThere is now a fairly catchy song by X-Ambassadors called Ophelia…and we all know how music can influence names so I’d imagine a boost from it.
ofelia says
March 31, 2014 at 9:12 PMHi there my name is Ofelia , my friends and family call me Ofe, I love my name, it was my mother’s name too, by the way I think the festivities of St. Ofelia is April 2nd., suppose to be tomorrow I wonder if I get a present….hum… will be nice.
R.G.S. says
September 27, 2011 at 12:43 AMMy grandmother’s name is Ofelia (pronounced oh-FEL-ee-a) and I’ve always considered it for a possible name for a future daughter. Her nickname is Fela, (pronounced FEH-la), which I like and find preferable to “Lia”.
SkyeRhyly says
August 25, 2011 at 8:56 AMMy sister-in-law in portuguese and her name is Of
appellationmountain says
August 25, 2011 at 7:13 PMThat’s a truly stunning pronunciation!
Anya says
August 12, 2010 at 5:26 PMI adore this name! I also like Aurelia, it was actually what my brother’s name would’ve been if he were a girl and if my parents had let me name him :).
Anyway, I like both pronunciations (Oh-FEEL-ee-yah and Oh-FELL-ee-yah) of the name. A lot of Shakespeare’s names are pretty, like this one, and Alice, Celia, Cassandra, Rosaline and Valeria. Ophelia is also on my shortlist.
Emmaline says
June 25, 2010 at 5:00 PMI happen to love the name Ophelia, adore it even. I really don’t care about the pronounciation, be it Oh-FEEL-yah or Oh-FEL-ee-yah, but I think, at times, that the latter can get a little bulky at times. Lea is a pretty nice nickname, but I agree it could get lost in all the generic names. When I’m old enough to have kids, that will absolutely be one of my kids names haha (I’m near 16 right now).
The Shakespeare reference is actually what drew me to the name, because Hamlet is one of my favorite plays, and Ophelia is a great character, and a beautiful character, despite her tragic, romanticist ending. I also think that, although some shakespeare names have become famous, this name has gotten lost as one of the most beautiful names (I’m also a fan of Rosalind and Julietta, as well as Luciana – in As You Like It, Measure For Measure, and The Comedy of Errors, respectively) in Shakespeares works. It’s uniqueness is what makes it special, and I think being traced back to such a tragic, beautiful, famous literary heroine.
Honestly, I would much rather have Ophelia become more popular than Juliet, because, although both heroines met tragic ends, Ophelia’s events leading to her sinking into madness follow a more understandable pattern – her brother was going crazy himself, her father was murdered by her lover, and she was spurned by him who was most likely her husband; while juliet can be today viewed as a girl who got too caught up in the romance of a moment, a normal teenager who overreacted.
and Yeah, when I saw the article, I was prepared to correct you as well on the “double double, toil and trouble” bit, because I am kind of a shakespeare snob myself, and am currently doing Macbeth with my Shakespeare theater group (nationally acclaimed haha, sorry done bragging my little bit :P)
but back to the point, Ophelia is extremely under-rated
heronimus_b says
June 14, 2010 at 3:16 PMMy daughter’s name is Ophelia and although it was hard to shake the Hamlet reference, I think the name is unique without being trendy. I wanted to give her a name that would never be too popular so it would never be unpopular. It was also important for me to give her a name that she would grow into. For example, Lexi is cute when you’re 5 but, in my opinion, not when your 32.
appellationmountain says
June 24, 2008 at 11:27 PMHeck, Emmy Jo, you’re right! That’s what I get for being overconfident in my Shakespearean references and not looking them up. 😉
Emmy Jo says
June 23, 2008 at 3:23 PMI love the name Ophelia! But then again, during one particularly stressful bout of college final exams, I wandered dazedly around my apartment quoting lines from Ophelia’s mad scene (and frightening my roommates in the process). It is a great Olivia-alternative, and for slightly less daring parents, it would make a lovely middle name — I think combinations like Margaret Ophelia, Katherine Ophelia, and Daisy Ophelia are quite charming.
(I’ll be a literature nerd, too. “Double, double, toil and trouble,” is from Macbeth, not Hamlet.)
Katharine (the other one!!!) says
June 19, 2008 at 5:28 PMIt’s not the Shakespeare connotations but the O-feel-ya pronouciation that put me off! That said, it is magnificent and I agree would sit very well with Sophia, Amelia, Isabella and co.
Lola says
June 19, 2008 at 3:03 PMIndeed, Oh-FEEl-ya is the most common pronuncation. oh-FEEL-ee-yah might slide by as well. But I know I fight an uphill battle alone for oh-FEL-(ee)-yah. I can deal. 🙂 I’m hoping Pan’s Labrynth gives a boost to Ofelia/Ophelia, it’s so pretty and the heroine is so endearing. It should definitely be on your redbox or netflix list.
I too have been seeing Aurelia around recent;y and think it’s absolutely poised for a takeoff. Maybe a takeoff of modest proportions but still… something!
appellationmountain says
June 19, 2008 at 10:45 AMKatharine – welcome. And thank you for catching my Harriet flub!
Funny, I didn’t think of this one as having a pronunciation challenge, but sure enough, it’s there. I’ve always assumed that the four-syllable oh-FEEL-ee-ah is the correct pronunciation, and that the shorter oh-FEEL-yah was mostly a Bart Simpson prank call convenience.
While normally I have a hard time with parents insisting on a very specific pronunciation for their child’s name – how many ON-drey-ahs go through life correcting those who say an-DREE-ah? – I could break the rule for this one. Lola, *love* your thought about oh-FEL-ee-ah.
I haven’t see Pan’s Labyrinth – am adding it to my Netflix cue right now – but is that closer to the Spanish pronunciation? If so, I’d argue that Ofelia is the one to embrace, both for the distance from Hamlet and that lovely sound.
Elisabeth, you’re right about Aurelia. Especially with Arianna so hot, it seems like a logical discovery. I suppose it’s being overlooked in favor of Aurora – at #317 last year – which gets a boost from the Disney Princess association. But I’m hearing Aurelia at least considered on some name forum posts, so she might be discovered before long.
youcantcallitit says
June 19, 2008 at 3:12 AMI agree that we’re about to see Ophelia skyrocket. Lola, I’ll bet you 9 out of 10 of those online Ophelias we’re seeing are little oh-FEEL-yahs and not oh-FEL-ee-ahs. Nevertheless, while the Shakespearean associations would stop me from using it, it’s gorgeous to hear, say, and look at. And yes, she will fit right in with Olivia, Isabella, and Amelia. A similar pretty underused name without the connotations is Aurelia. I have no idea why this name isn’t more prevalent. I could really see Ophelia, Aurelia, Arabella and Isadora taking over their more common counterparts.
I too thought of Pan’s Labyrinth immediately, but couldn’t remember if it was the character or the actress’ name. Turns out, the actress is named Ivana.
coolteamblt says
June 18, 2008 at 3:25 PMI’ve always said Ophelia as oh-FEEL-ee-ah, and Ofelia as oh-FEL-ee-ah. I love the spelling Ophelia, but the sound of Ofelia. I think it is totally going to become a hot name. It has that trendy O, and is very similar to Olivia.
Lola says
June 18, 2008 at 2:17 PMMaybe “Pan’s Labrynth” will help Ofelia (Ophelia in English) rise again? It’s a gorgeous fairytale-ish movie and the heroine is, of course, Ofelia. I think the general pronunciation is what really killed Ophelia. Oh-feel-ya just isn’t particularly pleasant whichever way you approach it.
I’ve always said oh-FEL-ee-ah myself, Even got into a huge fight with my Sophmore English teacher over the pronunciation and won. Oh-FEL-ee-ah is so much more pleasant to hear(and say).
I am starting to see Ophelia pop up as a middle somewhat often online in the forums. And it’s only a matter of time before it goes from middle to first. I think It’s got such a lovely sound, Why not use it? A pretty name is easier to say a thousand times a day than an ugly one!
Ofelia says
July 13, 2011 at 3:15 AMFunny you should pick up on the big difference that subtle pronunciation change makes! Being an Ofelia myself, it always makes me feel more appreciated by people if they pronounce my name “Oh-FEEL-EE-AH” instead of just slurring out “Oh-feel-yah” I like standing out from the crowd, but it would be nice to see some more positive portrayals of my name.
Katharine says
June 18, 2008 at 11:58 AMJust stumbled across your site – what a wonderful collection of names!
I love Ophelia and think it could work well. The Hamlet connection doesn’t bother me as much as the lack of good nicknames – I do like the suggestion of Lia (certainly better than “Ophy” or anything so graceless), but would she get lost amongst the Leahs and Lilys? I think this would be great in the middle name slot to give it some use but avoid practical problems.
(One little literature-nerd note: “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” was written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, not Harriet Tubman).
Thanks for these great names!
Ofelia says
July 13, 2011 at 3:10 AMlol, I’m one of those rare American Ofelias, and I’ve always liked that my name is unusual, although virtually no one could spell it properly or distinguish it from Olivia when I was growing up, and yet they NEVER had any trouble associating me with the Shakespeare character either! I’ve tried to go with the nickname Fi, and that seems to go over pretty well, although people have tried to foist “Ofie” on me, much to my chagrin!