The baby name Ophelia is an elaborate, literary gem, continuing to rise in popularity.
Thanks to Natalie for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day.
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 means help or aid, from the Greek word ophelos.
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 teenage 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 ideas about death, and depictions of insanity.
OPHELIA ST. CLARE
There’s a second literary Ophelia, a character from Harriet Beecher Stowe’s enduring 1852 novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin.
This Ophelia is capable of offering the Greek ophelos to the enslaved characters in Stowe’s novel. She’s white and wealthy, a Vermont native who opposes slavery when she arrives in the New Orleans household of her cousin. And she does tutor a young enslaved girl in their household.
During the course of the novel, Ophelia changes, committing to shedding her prejudices. Stowe likely intended Ophelia as a model for her readers, showing how Northerners content to accept slavery in the South could revisit their beliefs.
BY the NUMBERS
The baby name Ophelia wasn’t all that unusual back in the day.
In 1880, the name ranked in the Top 250. It remained in the same range through the late 1920s, and in the Top 1000 until 1958.
It wasn’t until the 1960s that the name fell into disuse.
In 1960, just 103 girls were named Ophelia. By 1965, that number was 67. And in 1970, it was a mere 49.
The low point? A mere 17 girls were given the baby name Ophelia in 1992.
MORTICIA’S SISTER
It’s not that adaptations of Hamlet slowed. Indeed, Richard Burton famously played the prince during the 1960s. A television adaptation cast popular folk singer Marianne Faithfull in the role.
But the name changed, now sounding fusty and antique or even outlandish.
Both The Addams Family comic strip and later television series gave the name to Morticia’s sister, Ophelia Frump.
Marvel supervillain Ophelia Sarkissian – also known as Madame Hydra or Viper – debuted in 1969.
OFELIA
The name might’ve been forgotten entirely, at least in English.
But it wasn’t so elsewhere.
In fact, the French form of the name – Ophelie – peaked in popularity during the 1990s, rising in use in France just as Ophelia cratered in the US.
Other potential variations include Ofilia and Ovelia, though they’ve never caught on as baby girl names in the US.
And then along came a movie, using the Spanish and Italian version of the name – Ofelia. Pronunciation is different. In Spanish, it’s oh FAY lee uh.
Guillermo del Toro wrote and directed dark fantasy movie Pan’s Labyrinth in 2006.
The story features a heroic young Ofelia.
Her life becomes entangled with a fairy tale against the backdrop of 1940s Spain.
The movie became a sensation, garnering international acclaim and making many best-of lists.
There’s a small uptick in the use of the name Ofelia in the US following the movie’s release. But it’s even more true for the baby name Ophelia. In 2006, 47 girls received the name. By 2008, there were 101 newborn Ophelias.
THE LUMINEERS
English actress Ophelia Lovibond helped raise the name’s profile, too. She played Carina in Guardians of the Galaxy in 2014, and later appeared in Elementary, Minx, and This Sceptered Isle.
Dave Grohl gave the name to his youngest daughter in 2014.
In 2015, E!’s first original series, The Royals, featured a character by the name. The series was originally based on a 2011 novel by Michelle Ray, Falling for Hamlet, which updates the doomed couple’s story and tells it from Ophelia’s perspective. The E! series quickly moved past the original plot, and sent Ophelia to America.
The biggest boost came in 2016, when folk rock band The Lumineers released “Ophelia” as a single from their sophomore album Cleopatra.
It’s clearly inspired by Shakespeare’s tragic tale.
“Oh Ophelia, you’ve been on my mind girl, since the flood.”
It was a big enough hit to boost the name.
In 2015, 276 girls received the name. By 2017, that number had reached 764.
STYLISH SOUND
The baby name Ophelia returned to the US Social Security Administration’s Top 100 in 2015 at #979, and surged to #416 by 2017.
But it’s not just the success of the song.
It’s also the name’s stylish sound. We’re in the era of Olivia and Amelia. Feminine, ends with -lia names are favorites today.
A lack of nicknames might hold Ophelia back just a little. Ophie is a non-starter. Lia – or Leah – works, but isn’t quite as obvious. Phelia sounds just like Feel-Ya. In the Flavia de Luce mystery novels, her sister Ophelia is called Feely, taking it even further.
But that’s a minor consideration.
With an impeccable literary pedigree and long history of use, Ophelia almost reads like a neglected classic name. It’s distinctive, elaborate, and unforgettable.
If you’re after a literary name with presence, the baby name Ophelia is one to consider.
Would you consider the baby name Opehlia for a daughter?
This post was originally published on June 18, 2008. It was substantially revised and re-posted on May 10, 2016 and again on October 26, 2022.
My 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.
Heck, Emmy Jo, you’re right! That’s what I get for being overconfident in my Shakespearean references and not looking them up. 😉
I 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.)
It’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.
Indeed, 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!
Katharine – 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.
I 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.
I’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.
Maybe “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!
Funny 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.
Just 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!
lol, 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!