Ophelia

Ophelia: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning: “help”
Origin: Greek
Say it: oh-FEEL-ee-uh · 4 syllables
Used for: Girls

Ophelia derives from Greek opheleia meaning 'help' or 'benefit'. It is well known from Shakespeare's Hamlet, which established it in English literary use.

Greek names English names Classic names Literary names International names

How popular is Ophelia?

2024365 per million US babies

Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Compare with another name

Babies named Ophelia in 20241,215

2024 rank#261 girls

Peak year2024

Total US babies since 188024,590

Ophelia is rising: use over the last five years is 7.7× what it was a decade earlier.

Names like Ophelia

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

Ofeliahelp · Greek
Sophiawisdom · Greek
Sofiawisdom · Greek
Chloeyoung green shoot · Greek
Zoelife · Greek
Penelopeweaver; duck · Greek
Elenabright, shining light · Greek
Genesisorigin; creation; birth · Greek

Ophelia questions

What does the name Ophelia mean?

Ophelia means "help". It comes from Greek. Ophelia derives from Greek opheleia meaning 'help' or 'benefit'. It is well known from Shakespeare's Hamlet, which established it in English literary use.

Is Ophelia a boy or girl name?

Ophelia is mainly a girl's name in US records (100% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Ophelia?

1,215 US babies were named Ophelia in 2024. Its peak year was 2024.

How do you pronounce Ophelia?

Ophelia is usually pronounced oh-FEEL-ee-uh.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.