Ophelia
Feminine · Greek roots · “help”
Ophelia is overwhelmingly a girls’ name — 25,770 girls against 15 boys since 1880.
Ophelia was born in a poem: the Italian writer Jacopo Sannazaro put an Ofelia in his pastoral Arcadia in 1504, and a century later Shakespeare gave the spelling with the ph to Hamlet's Denmark. From Greek roots meaning help, it has been read aloud on stages in every language that has a theater. Four soft syllables, with the weight landing in the middle.
How old is the name Ophelia?
Ophelia was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Ophelia alive today was born around 1963, making them about 62 years old. About 15,000 people named Ophelia are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Ophelia most popular?
Ophelia peaked in 1882, reaching #230 nationally. Today it ranks #264, 34 places below that high. See the whole 1882 chart.
Where it comes from
From ōpheleia (Greek, 'help') to Ophelia
The story of Ophelia
The Greek noun ōpheleia meant help or benefit, but no ancient woman is recorded bearing it as a name. It surfaces first as Ofelia in Sannazaro's Arcadia, printed in 1504, and traveled north into English literature when Shakespeare wrote Hamlet around the turn of the seventeenth century — after which Ophelia belonged to the stage, and to painters, for three hundred years. It entered American birth records in the Victorian era and has been quietly present ever since, strongly represented among older generations and rising again with the wider return of long, ornamental names. Ofelia remains the standard form across Spanish, Italian and Portuguese.
Meaning
help, benefit
From the Greek ōpheleia, 'help' or 'advantage'. The name itself appears to be Sannazaro's literary coinage from that root rather than an inherited ancient name.
How the name formed
- ōpheleiaGreek, 'help'
- Ofelia
- Ophelia
Related forms: Ofelia · Ofelia · Ophélie · Ofélia · Οφηλία · Офелия (Ofeliya)
Pronouncing Ophelia
oh-FEE-lee-uh
Also said oh-FEEL-yuh, with the last two syllables run together; both are standard in American English. The ph is a plain f.
Nicknames for Ophelia
High
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most girls named
- 20251,183 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #230reached in 1882
- Change vs 2022
- +1.2%1,183 in 2025, from 1,169
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Ophelia in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Ofelia in Spanish — same name
- Ofelia in Italian — same name
- Ophélie in French — same name
- Ofélia in Portuguese — same name
- Οφηλία in Greek — transliteration
- Офелия (Ofeliya) in Russian — transliteration
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Florida. International figures from Office for National Statistics. Sources
Ophelias among us
people named Ophelia are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 1,359 born in 2025 was named Ophelia
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Ophelia is on its second act. Revived names age gently: the generation that wore them first is far enough away that the name feels classic rather than dated.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Ophelia is headed
Ophelia looks set to keep climbing gently, with roughly 16% more babies a year by 2030 if the current curve holds.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Ophelia beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Ophelia in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The spelling is fixed by four centuries of printed Shakespeare, so people who hesitate over it can usually still get there.
- Ofelia, Ophélie and Ofélia give the same name a home in Spanish, Italian, French and Portuguese.
- Several short forms are already in circulation — Effie, Fee, Lia — none of which need explaining.
- On record in American births since the Victorian era, and currently charting in England and Wales too.
- Hamlet's Ophelia goes mad and drowns. It is the first thing many adults will think of, and the play is taught in most American high schools — worth deciding now whether that reference sits comfortably with you.
- Said quickly, the name can be heard as 'oh, feel ya', which older children discover eventually. It passes, but it is a real feature of the sound.
- Ofelia is the default spelling in Spanish and Italian, so expect that version to come back at you in writing sometimes.
- A child with this name will likely be the only one in her grade — pleasant most days, occasionally means repeating it at the doctor's desk.
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What they receive
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Ophelia
Feminine · Greek roots · #264 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Ophelias are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 15,000 people named Ophelia are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Ophelia in 2025?
- Ophelia ranks #264 among US girl names in 2025, with 1,183 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Ophelia?
- About 1 in every 1,359 US girls born in 2025 was named Ophelia — 1,183 in all.
- Will my child share the name Ophelia with classmates?
- Ophelia will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Ophelia
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Aliyah#263 · Talia#265 · Norah#262 · Aspen#266 · Elaina#267 · Mariana#260 · Adalyn#260 · Selena#268
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Ophelia? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Ophelia and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration; international figures from national statistics agencies. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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