Ophelia

O1P3H4E1L1I1A1
UK/ɒˈfiː.lɪə/UK/əʊˈfiː.lɪə/UK/əˈfiː.lɪə/US/oʊˈfi.əl.jə/

proper noun

A female given name from Ancient Greek.

OriginItalian Ofelia ← Ancient Greek ὠφέλειᾰ →
Less commonScrabble 12
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Meanings

proper noun
  1. A female given name from Ancient Greek.

    I lov’d Ophelia: forty thousand brothers // Could not, with all their quantity of love, // Make up my sum.

    c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i]
    1 more example

    The eldest daughter of a nobleman / Ophelia lived in fantasy / But love was a cold bed full of scorpions / The venom stole her sanity

    2025 October 28, “The Fate of Ophelia”, in The Life of a Showgirl, performed by Taylor Swift
  2. astronomyA moon of Uranus.

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekὠφέλειᾰ“help, aid, succour”
  2. ItalianOfelia
  3. EnglishOphelia

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

More words from Italian, Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Esperanto Ofelio
  • Ofeliofemale given name
French Ophélie
  • Ophéliefemale given name
German Ophelia
  • Opheliafemale given name
Greek Οφηλία
  • Οφηλία (Ofilía)female given name
Japanese オフィーリア
  • オフィーリア (Ofīria)moon of Uranus
Polish Ofelia, Ofelia
  • Ofeliafemale given name
  • Ofeliamoon of Uranus
Portuguese Ofélia
  • Oféliafemale given name
Russian Офе́лия, Офе́лия
  • Офе́лия (Ofélija)female given name
  • Офе́лия (Ofélija)moon of Uranus
Spanish Ofelia
  • Ofeliafemale given name
Turkish Ofelya
  • Ofelyafemale given name

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with Ophelia

ameliaCeciliaCeliadeliaCordeliapsychedeliaKarelialobeliahaemophiliaphaceliaphiliaasphyxiophiliabromeliacimeliadysmeliainflatophiliaLaconophiliamicrophilia-philiaphocomeliaplushophiliasirenomelia
All rhymes →

Sounds the same

aphelia (one pronunciation)
Cite this entry
APA

Ophelia. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Ophelia

MLA

“Ophelia.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Ophelia. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Ophelia,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Ophelia.

Source: Ophelia on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.