Ophelia

Ophelia meaning

Ophelia is an international girl's name of Greek origin.

Help, aid; benefit; from Greek ōpheleia

Ophelia is usually explained from Greek ōpheleia, which the Liddell-Scott-Jones lexicon gives as help, aid and succour, and also profit or benefit. The name is famous from Shakespeare's Hamlet, in which Ophelia, the daughter of Polonius, loves Hamlet and drowns after her father's death; the scene has been painted many times, most famously by John Everett Millais. Where Shakespeare took the name from is not certain. Name lists give it as "help", which matches the Greek word. It is said oh-FEE-lee-uh.

Source: Liddell, Scott & Jones, Greek-English Lexicon (9th ed.) · entry ὠφέλεια (ōpheleia) · See the entry · checked 25 Oct 2026

References: LSJ, ὠφέλεια (Logeion)

Famous namesakes

• Ophelia, Hamlet's beloved in Shakespeare's Hamlet

Popularity abroad

• #264 United States, girls 2025 (down 5 from 259 in 2024)
  US Social Security Administration
• #81 England and Wales, girls 2025
  Office for National Statistics

Official birth registrations. India publishes no national name statistics.

Spellings

Ophelia · Ofelia

Related names

Also meaning kindness

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