Ophelia
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Origin of the name Ophelia:
Believed to have been coined by Sannazzaro in 1504 for the name of a character in his pastoral Arcadia. He is thought to have taken it from the Greek ōphelia (help, succor). The use of Ophelia in the English language seems to be a result of its being used for the name of Polonius' daughter, who was in love with Hamlet in Shakespeare's Hamlet.
From A World of Baby Names by Teresa Norman. Buy the bookDoes Ophelia sound...
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Reader Contributions
Contribute to, or edit, this collection of community wisdom on the name Ophelia!
- Comments and insights on the name Ophelia: | Edit
I love love love this name, despite it's literary origin. I think it's a beautiful name that will grow with your child.It is an awesome name its very elegant and taken seriously.
If I was a celebrity and had to give my kid a crazy name, this would be it. It's beautiful.
- Personal experiences with the name Ophelia: | Edit
I named one of my orange kittens Ophelia. I call her Phelie sometimes. It gets kind of confusing, though, because I call her brother Garfield Fieldy.
I adored this name when I was rather young although my father quickly destroyed it for me with "You can't call a girl that, all her school life boys'll be telling her they "just wanna get a feel o' ya." ... thanks dad
- Nicknames for Ophelia: | Edit
Lia, Phelia, Opie, Fifi, Phea, Elia, Eli, Philly, Offie
- Meanings and history of the name Ophelia: | Edit
Helper
- Famous real-life people named Ophelia: | Edit
Sarah Ophelia Colley Cannon a.k.a. Minnie Pearl
- Ophelia in song, story & screen: | Edit
Ophelia is a fictional character in the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare. She is a young noblewoman of Denmark, and the love interest of Prince Hamlet.
Ofelia was the name of the lead character in the movie 'Pan's Labyrinth'.
Ophelia is an album released by Natalie Merchant in 1998. The first track shares the album's name. In the song, Ophelia is described as being at once a "novice carmelite," a "suffragette," a "circus queen," a "demigoddess" and a "mafia courtesan."
Ophelia is the titular character in a song by The Band.
NameVoyager US Popularity of Ophelia Over Time
NameMapper Current Popularity of Ophelia by State
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