Ophelia
Apparently coined by the Italian poet Sannazaro in the early sixteenth century, probably from Greek ophelos, meaning help or advantage. Shakespeare gave it to a character in Hamlet.
Ophelia in 2025
Ophelia was given to 1,183 babies in the United States in 2025, making it the 560th most popular name of the year. That is roughly one in every 2,802 babies born.
The history of Ophelia
Ophelia reached its highest point in 2024, when 1,223 babies were given the name, ranking 549th that year. Its best-ever ranking was 411th, in 1900.
Across the 146 years of records since 1880, 25,785 babies have been named Ophelia. Half of them were born before 1958, which places the name's centre of gravity with the Baby Boomers.
Ophelia by decade
| Decade | Babies named Ophelia | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 580 | 432 |
| 1890s | 899 | 414 |
| 1900s | 1,236 | 411 |
| 1910s | 2,377 | 468 |
| 1920s | 3,286 | 638 |
| 1930s | 1,948 | 764 |
| 1940s | 1,392 | 1,013 |
| 1950s | 1,388 | 1,142 |
| 1960s | 720 | 1,777 |
| 1970s | 397 | 2,618 |
| 1980s | 295 | 3,636 |
| 1990s | 252 | 6,173 |
| 2000s | 474 | 3,561 |
| 2010s | 3,981 | 760 |
| 2020s | 6,560 | 549 |
Where Ophelia is heading
Ophelia has grown more than 4.3 times over the past decade, from 276 babies in 2015 to 1,183 in 2025.
Names like Ophelia
Names that rose and fell at the same time as Ophelia.