Ophelia is a feminine given name, probably derived from the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

word ὠφέλεια (''ōphéleia'', "benefit"). The name is best known as a

character Character or Characters may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk * ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to Theoph ...

from

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

'' who has a tragic end. More modern associations, including ''

Ophelia Ophelia () is a character in William Shakespeare's drama ''Hamlet'' (1599–1601). She is a young noblewoman of Denmark, the daughter of Polonius, sister of Laertes and potential wife of Prince Hamlet. Due to Hamlet's actions, Ophelia ultima ...

'', a song by

The Lumineers The Lumineers are an American alternative folk band based in Denver, Colorado. The founding members are Wesley Schultz (lead vocals, guitar) and Jeremiah Fraites (drums, percussion, piano). Schultz and Fraites began writing and performing to ...

, now also influence perceptions of the name, which also has a history of use dating back to the late 1800s. Author Laura Wattenberg noted that the name is elegant, exotic, and similar in style to the popular name

Olivia Olivia may refer to: People and fictional characters * Olivia (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Olivia (singer), American singer Olivia Longott (born 1981) * Olívia (basketball), Brazilian basketball playe ...

but has a more

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language ** Gothic ( ...

, romantic sensibility that some parents find appealing. Ophelia has also been the subject of numerous songs, paintings, film and television productions. Ofelia is the Spanish-language spelling of the name.

Usage

The name has ranked among the top 1,000 names for girls in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

since 2015 and among the top 300 since 2022. It has also increased in usage in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, where it has been ranked among the top 500 names since 2009 and among the top 100 names for girls since 2022. It also ranks among the top 200 names in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, where it ranked 152nd on the popularity chart in 2021.

People with the given name

Ophelia

* Ophelia Gordon Bell (1915–1975), English sculptor *

Ophelia Benson Ophelia Benson (born 1948) is an American author, editor, blogger, and feminist. Benson is the editor of the website ''Butterflies and Wheels'' and a columnist and former associate editor of '' The Philosophers' Magazine''. She is also a columni ...

(born 1948), American author, editor, blogger, and feminist *

Ophelia Cabral Ophelia Cabral e D'Souza (born Clara Merciana Ophelia Cabral; 8 November 1938 – 19 February 2016), popularly known as Ophelia Cabral, was an Indian actress, singer, playwright, and theatre director, director known for her work in Konkani cine ...

(1938–2016), Indian actress, singer, playwright and director * Ophelia Clenlans ( 1841–1907), American civil rights activist and journalist * Ophelia Crossland (born 1983), Ghanaian fashion designer *

Ophelia Dahl Ophelia Magdalena Dahl (born 12 May 1964) is a British-American social justice and health care advocate. Dahl co-founded Partners In Health (PIH), a Boston, Massachusetts-based non-profit health care organization dedicated to providing a "prefe ...

(born 1964), British social justice and health care advocate *

Ophelia DeVore Ophelia DeVore (August 12, 1921 – February 28, 2014) was an American businesswoman, publisher, and model.Margalit Fox(obituary), ''New York Times'', March 13, 2014. She was the first model of African-American descent in the United States. In 1 ...

(1922–2014), American businesswoman, publisher and model *

Ophelia Dimalanta Ophelia Alcantara Dimalanta (June 16, 1932 – November 4, 2010) was a Filipino poet, editor, author, and academician. One of the country's most respected writers, Dimalanta published several books of poetry, criticism, drama, and prose and edite ...

(1932–2010), Filipino poet *

Ophelia Settle Egypt Ophelia Settle Egypt (February 20, 1903 – May 25, 1984), also known as E. Ophelia Settle, was a social worker, educator, sociologist and writer who conducted some of the first oral history interviews with formerly enslaved people. Early life a ...

(1903–1984), American social worker, educator, sociologist and writer *

Ophelia Ford Ophelia Ford (born July 5, 1950) is a former member of the Tennessee Senate. She is the younger sister of former state senator John Ford and former Congressman Harold Ford, Sr., and the aunt of former Congressman Harold Ford, Jr. She represe ...

(born 1950), Tennessee politician *

Ophelia Hayford Ophelia Mensah Hayford is a Ghanaian Politician. She contested in the 2020 Ghanaian General Election and won the parliamentary seat for the Mfantsiman Constituency. Early life and education Hayford was born on 29 October 1973 and hails from ...

(born 1973), Ghanaian politician *

Ophélia Kolb Ophélia Kolb (born 1982) is a French actress. Career She was nominated twice to the Molière Award for Best Supporting Actress, winning in 2019 for her role in '' The Glass Menagerie'', directed by Charlotte Rondelez. Theater Filmogr ...

(born 1982), French actress *

Ophelia S. Lewis Ophelia S. Lewis (born 7 November 1961) is a Liberian author and publisher and humanitarian Humanitarianism is an ideology centered on the value of human life, whereby humans practice benevolent treatment and provide assistance to other humans t ...

(born 1961), Liberian author *

Ophelia Lovibond Ophelia Lucy Lovibond (born 19 February 1986) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Carina in the films '' Thor: The Dark World'' and '' Guardians of the Galaxy,'' Izzy Gould in the BBC's '' W1A'', Patty Failure in Disney's '' Tim ...

(born 1986), English actress *

Ophelia Marie Ophelia Marie, also known as Ophelia Olivaccé-Marie (born 28 March 1951), is a popular singer of cadence-lypso from Dominica in the 1980s. She is sometimes referred to as "Dominica's Lady of Song", the "First Lady of Creole", and "la grande d ...

(born 1951), Dominican singer *

Ophelia Nick Ophelia Johanna Nick ( Schily, born 24 January 1973) is a German veterinarian and politician of Alliance 90/The Greens who has been serving as a member of the Bundestag since the 2021 national elections, representing the Mettmann II district. ...

(born 1973), German veterinarian and politician *

Ophelia Paquet Ophelia (Catata) Paquet was a Tillamook people, Tillamook woman involved in an Oregon court case in 1919 related to the legal recognition of marriage across racial lines. The case's issue was whether Ophelia Paquet could inherit her deceased Euro ...

, Tillamook woman involved in an

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

court case related to the legal recognition of interracial marriage *

Ophelia Pastrana Ophelia Pastrana Ardila (born 4 October 1982) is a Colombian-Mexican transgender physicist, economist, speaker, YouTuber, technologist and comedian. She is the first transgender woman naturalized by Mexico. ''Business Insider'' listed her as one ...

(born 1982), Colombian-Mexican physicist, economist, speaker, Youtuber, technologist and comedian * Ophelia Hoff Saytumah, Liberian politician

Ofelia

Ofelia Calcetas-Santos Ofelia Calcetas-Santos (died January 2011) was a Filipino public servant who was the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography from 1994 to 2001. During her tenure as Special Rapporteur, ...

(died 2011), United Nations rapporteur *

Ofelia Cano Ofelia Cano is a Mexican actress. She appeared in many telenovelas. Some of her better known roles are the one of Rebeca in '' Entre el amor y el odio'' and Yolanda in ''Acorralada ''Acorralada'' (''Trapped'') is an American telenovela produce ...

(born 1959), Mexican actress *

Ofelia Domínguez Navarro Ofelia Domínguez Navarro (Mataguá, December 9, 1894 – Havana, July 7, 1976) was a Cuban writer, teacher, lawyer, feminist and activist. She was a proponent of the rights of women and illegitimate children. As a journalist, Domínguez Navarro s ...

(1894–1976), Cuban writer, teacher, lawyer, feminist and activist *

Ofelia Echagüe Vera Ofelia Echagüe Vera (1904–1987) was a painter and educator from Asunción, Paraguay. She is credited as a founder of modern art in Paraguay, through her work in the plastic arts, and through her influence upon her students, particularly Olga B ...

(1904–1987), Paraguayan painter and educator * Ofelia Esparza (born 1932), Chicana altar artist * Ofelia Fernández (born 2000), Argentine politician and political activist *

Ofelia Fox Ofelia Fox (1923 – January 2, 2006), born Ofelia Suárez in Havana, Cuba, was a poet, lecturer and radio personality whose life as the wife of a Havana nightclub owner was chronicled in the book ''Tropicana Nights: the Life and Times of the Leg ...

(1923–2006), Cuban poet, lecturer and radio personality *

Ofelia Garcia (disambiguation) Ofelia Garcia may refer to: * Ofelia Garcia (artist), Cuban-born American artist * Ofelia García (educator) Ofelia García (Otheguy) is Professor Emerita in the Ph.D. programs of Latin American, Iberian, and Latino Cultures (LAILAC) and Urban E ...

, multiple people * Ofelia Gelvezon-Tequi (born 1942), Filipino visual artist *

Ofelia Giudicissi Curci Ofelia Giudicissi Curci (11 May 1934 – 13 September 1981) was an Italian poet, painter and archeologist. She was an advocate of the Albanian linguistic dialect Arbëresh, although her poetry was written in Italian. ''Momenti di un profilo meri ...

(1934–1981), Italian poet and archaeologist *

Ofelia Guilmáin Ofelia Guilmáin (17 November 1921 – 14 January 2005) was a Spanish actress. She is also the mother of actors Juan Ferrara and Lucía Guilmáin. Two of her grandchildren, sons of Ferrara, Mauricio Bonet, Mauricio and Juan Carlos Bonet, are als ...

(1921–2005), Spanish actress *

Ofelia Hooper Ofelia Hooper Polo (13 November 1900, in Las Minas, Herrera, Las Minas, Panama – 23 September 1981) was a Panamanian sociologist, poet, professor, researcher, and civil rights activist. She was the daughter of Maurice Hooper and Olimpia Polo Va ...

(1900–1981), Panamanian sociologist, poet, professor and civil rights activist * Ofelia Malinov (born 1996), Italian volleyball player *

Ofelia Malcos Amaro María Ofelia Gloria Malcos Amaro (born 2 April 1968) is a Mexican politician from the National Action Party. From 2007 to 2009 she served as Deputy of the LX Legislature of the Mexican Congress representing Tlaxcala Tlaxcala, officially th ...

(born 1968), Mexican politician *

Ofélia Marques Ofélia Marques (1902–1952) was a Portuguese modernist painter, caricaturist and illustrator, best known in her lifetime for her illustrations of children's books. Early life Ofélia Gonçalves Pereira da Cruz, later known as Ofélia Marques ...

(1902–1952), Portuguese painter, caricaturist and illustrator *

Ofelia Márquez Huitzil Ofelia Márquez Huitzil (born 1959) is a Mexican artist and member of the Salón de la Plástica Mexicana. She is best known for her abstract art with figurative elements, which has made her work somewhat controversial and excluded from Mexico a ...

(born 1959), Mexican artist *

Ofelia Medina María Ofelia Medina Torres (born 4 March 1950), more commonly known by her stage name Ofelia Medina, is a Mexican actress, singer and screenwriter of Mexican films. She was married to film director Alex Philips Jr. and actor Pedro Armendár ...

(born 1950), Mexican actress, singer and screenwriter *

Ofelia Montesco Ofelia Irene Grabowski Edery (10 September 1936 – 16 June 1983), known professionally as Ofelia Montesco, was a Peruvian-born actress who is best remembered for her roles in cinema and television of Mexico. She was born in Iquitos City, in the ...

(1936–1983), Peruvian-born actress *

Ofelia Nieto Maria Ofelia Erenia Nieto Iglesias (stage name, Ofelia Nieto; Algete, March 18, 1898 – Madrid, 22 May 1931) was a Spanish opera and zarzuela singer. She was the daughter of José Nieto Méndez, a notary of Burgos, and Erundina. She was a sister ...

(1898–1931), Spanish singer * Ofelia Olivero, Argentine-American biologist *

Ofélia Ramos Ofélia Isabel Andrés da Conceição Ramos (born 5 July 1970) is a Portuguese politician, lawyer and businesswomen. A member of the centre-right Social Democratic Party (PSD), Ramos was elected to the Assembly of the Republic in 2019 as a rep ...

(born 1970), Portuguese politician, lawyer and businesswoman *

Ofélia Ramos Anunciato Ofélia Ramos Anunciato or Ofélia Anunciato (December 27, 1924 – October 26, 1998) was a well-known Brazilian chef. She hosted cooking shows on TV, like ''A cozinha Maravilhosa de Ofélia''. She began her career as a personality chef by publish ...

(1924–1998), Brazilian chef *

Ofelia Rey Castelao Ofelia Rey Castelao (born 1956) is a Galician historian, writer, and university professor. Focusing her research on women's history, she studies female migration and the insertion of Galician women in the literate culture. Rey Castelao was awar ...

(born 1956), Galician historian, writer and professor *

Ofelia Rodríguez Acosta Ofelia de la Concepción Rodríguez Acosta García (9 February 1902, in Pinar del Río – 28 June 1975, in Havana or Mexico) was a Cuban writer, journalist, radical feminist, and activist. She wrote feminist chronicles, stories, essays, novels, ...

(1902–1975), Cuban writer, journalist, feminist and activist *

Ofelia M. Samar-Sy Ofelia Manibog Samar-Sy (born January 25, 1962) is a Filipino physician in Internal medicine and Cardiology, medical educator, medical director of Ibalong Medical Center in Legazpi City, Albay, in May 2014 she was appointed Dean, College of Me ...

(born 1962), Filipino physician *

Ofelia Schutte Ofelia Schutte (born 1945) is Professor Emerita of Philosophy at the University of South Florida, where she had served as Professor of Philosophy since 2004, and as Professor of Women's Studies (and chair of the department) from 1999 until 2004. S ...

(born 1945), Panamanian philosopher and professor *

Ofelia Taitelbaum Masha Taitelbaum Yoselewich, better known as Ofelia Taitelbaum (born 4 January 1949) is a Costa Rican criminal and former politician and businesswoman who served as the National Ombudswoman from 2009-2014 and as a member of the Legislative Assemb ...

(born 1949), Costa Rican politician and businesswoman *

Ofelia Uribe de Acosta Ofelia Uribe de Acosta (1900 – 1988) was a Colombian people, Colombian suffragist. Acosta was born on December 22, 1900, in Oiba, Santander. In 1930, Ofelia presented at the Fourth International Conference for Women to advocate for rights ...

(1900–1988), Colombian suffragist *

Ofelia Zepeda Ofelia Zepeda (born in Stanfield, Arizona, 1952) is a Tohono O'odham poet and intellectual. She is Regents' Professor of Tohono O'odham language and linguistics and Director of the American Indian Language Development Institute (AILDI) at The ...

(born 1952), American poet and intellectual

Fictional characters

, a character from William Shakespeare's ''Hamlet'' * Ofelia, a character in ''

Pan's Labyrinth ''Pan's Labyrinth'' () is a 2006 dark fantasy film written, directed and co-produced by Guillermo del Toro. The film stars Ivana Baquero, Sergi López, Maribel Verdú, Doug Jones, and Ariadna Gil. The story takes place in Spain in the summe ...

'' * Ophelia, a character in ''Claymore'' * Ophelia, a character from '' APB: Reloaded'' * Ophelia, a character from ''

Brütal Legend ''Brütal Legend'' is an action-adventure video game with real-time strategy game elements created by Double Fine and published by Electronic Arts for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The game was released during October 2009 in North America, ...

'' * Ophelia, a character from ''

Romeo × Juliet is a Japanese anime television series, loosely based on William Shakespeare's classical play, ''Romeo and Juliet'', along with numerous references and characters from other Shakespearean plays. Though the anime borrows mostly from Shakespear ...

'' * Ophelia, the daughter of Odin, a character from ''

Fire Emblem Fates ''Fire Emblem Fates'' is a tactical role-playing video game for the Nintendo 3DS handheld video game console, developed by Intelligent Systems and Nintendo SPD and published by Nintendo. It was released in June 2015 in Japan, then released int ...

'' *

Ophelia Frump ''The Addams Family'' is an American Gothic sitcom based on Charles Addams's ''New Yorker'' cartoons. The 30-minute television series took the unnamed characters in the single-panel gag cartoons and gave them names, backstories, and a household ...

, of the television series ''The Addams Family'' * Ophelia Nigmos, a character appearing in ''

The Sims 2 ''The Sims 2'' is a 2004 social simulation video game developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. It is the second major title in ''The Sims'' series, and is the sequel to ''The Sims''. The game was released for Microsoft Windows on ...

'' *

Ophelia Ramírez ''The Life and Times of Juniper Lee'' is an American animated television series created by former MTV reality star Judd Winick for Cartoon Network and produced by Cartoon Network Studios. It premiered May 30, 2005, on Cartoon Network and ended it ...

, of the television series ''

The Life and Times of Juniper Lee ''The Life and Times of Juniper Lee'' is an American animated television series created by former MTV reality star Judd Winick for Cartoon Network and produced by Cartoon Network Studios. It premiered May 30, 2005, on Cartoon Network and ended ...

'' * Ophelia St. Clare, of the novel ''

Uncle Tom's Cabin ''Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly'' is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in two Volume (bibliography), volumes in 1852, the novel had a profound effect on attitudes toward African Americans ...

'' *

Ofelia Salazar The following is a list of characters from ''Fear the Walking Dead'', a television series that is a companion series and prequel to '' The Walking Dead'', which is based on the comic book series of the same name. Cast Main character ...

, fictional character in ''Fear the Walking Dead'' * Ofelia Santoro, a character in the book ''

Third and Indiana ''Third and Indiana'' is a novel written by Steve Lopez about the experiences of several people connected to 14-year-old Gabriel Santoro, while living in the dangerous gang-controlled streets of the Philadelphia Badlands, Badlands section of Ph ...

'' * Ophelia Sarkissian, a Marvel Comics character and often foe of Captain America and the Avengers

References

{{given name Feminine given names Given names of Greek language origin English-language feminine given names