Ophelia

oh-FEEL-ee-uh

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The name Ophelia means “Help, aid, or benefit.” It comes from the Greek language tradition.

Likely coined or popularized by Shakespeare for the tragic heroine in Hamlet (c. 1600), derived from Greek 'ophelos.' Despite its sorrowful literary associations, it has become a beloved romantic and gothic choice.

Wiktionary states Ophelia was borrowed from Ofelia, coined by a poet in the 1504 poem Arcadia, probably from a Greek root; Wikipedia specifies that root as the Ancient Greek ὠφέλεια. This means the name predates Shakespeare by roughly a century — he used the already-existing name for Polonius's daughter in Hamlet rather than coining it himself, contrary to the coined-by-Shakespeare claim made elsewhere.

Wiktionary adds that a moon of Uranus is named after Shakespeare's Hamlet character, extending the name's reach from literature into astronomy.

• Ophelia Lovibond

Sibling names that share Ophelia's rhythm and register without echoing it too closely.