The story behind Ophelia
Borrowed from Italian Ofelia, coined by the poet Jacopo Sannazaro in his poem Arcadia (1504), probably from the Ancient Greek ὠφέλειᾰ (ōphéleiă, “help, aid, succour”). The name was used by William Shakespeare for the daugher of Polonius and ill-fated love interest of Hamlet. The moon (of Uranus) is named after this character. Doublet of anopheles
Pronunciation
US: /oʊˈfi.əl.jə/
Regional pronunciation variants
- Received-Pronunciation: /ɒˈfiː.lɪə/
- Received-Pronunciation: /əʊˈfiː.lɪə/
- Received-Pronunciation: /əˈfiː.lɪə/
- US: /oʊˈfi.li.ə/
Popularity
Ophelia ranked #264 in US for 2025.
Source: SSA national baby names
Names Similar to Ophelia
Olympia
From Ancient Greek Ὀλυμπία (Olumpía), from Ὄλυμπος (Ólumpos, “Olympus”).
- Gender
- feminine
- Syllables
- 4 syllables
- Ending
- ends A
- same syllable count
- similar length
Afrodita
Borrowed from Ancient Greek Ἀφροδίτη (Aphrodítē), usually connected with ἀφρός (aphrós, “sea foam, froth”), but possibly of Semitic origin.
- Gender
- feminine
- Syllables
- 4 syllables
- Ending
- ends A
- same syllable count
- similar length
Alejandra
a female given name from Ancient Greek, equivalent to English Alexandra
- Gender
- feminine
- Syllables
- 4 syllables
- Ending
- ends A
- same syllable count
- similar length
Alexandra
From Ancient Greek Ἀλεξάνδρα (Alexándra), from ἀλέξω (aléxō, “to defend”) + ἀνδρ- (andr-, stem of ἀνήρ (anḗr, “man”)). Feminine form of Alexander (“the man who repels…
- Gender
- feminine
- Syllables
- 4 syllables
- Ending
- ends A
- same syllable count
- similar length
Alexia
Feminine form of Alexius.
- Gender
- feminine
- Syllables
- 4 syllables
- Ending
- ends A
- same syllable count
- similar length
Alexondra
Variant of Alexandra to explicate /-ɑ(ː)-/ 〈-o-〉, as opposed to /-æ-/ 〈-a-〉.
- Gender
- feminine
- Syllables
- 4 syllables
- Ending
- ends A
- same syllable count
- similar length
Middle Names for Ophelia
Bartłomiej
Learned borrowing from Latin Bartholomaeus.
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 3 syllables
- Ending
- ends J
- balanced syllable contrast
- good length contrast
Basil
Name of several early saints, particularly in the Orthodox Church, from Latin Basilius, from Ancient Greek Βασίλειος (Basíleios). Doublet of Vasilios and Vasily.
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends L
- balanced syllable contrast
- good length contrast
Basile
Semi-learned borrowing from Latin Basilius, from Ancient Greek Βασίλειος (Basíleios).
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends E
- balanced syllable contrast
- good length contrast
Sibling Names for Ophelia
Aarón
a male given name from Latin [in turn from Ancient Greek, in turn from Hebrew], equivalent to English Aaron
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends N
- shared origin connection
- balanced name length
Abdiasz
Learned borrowing from Latin Abdias, from Ancient Greek Ἀβδίας (Abdías), from Hebrew עובדיה.
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends Z
- shared origin connection
- balanced name length
Abelus
Borrowed from Ancient Greek Ἅβελ (Hábel), itself from Biblical Hebrew הֶ֫בֶל (heḇel). The vowel, while short by etymology, is shown to be carrying stress by the descended…
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 3 syllables
- Ending
- ends S
- shared origin connection
- balanced name length