Ophelia
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name from Ancient Greek. 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
Source: Wiktionary, English entry for Ophelia (CC BY-SA 4.0). This is the origin of the name in English; families in Sweden may have taken it from another language.
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Ophelia has been rising over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2022. The figures are for this exact spelling; other spellings of the name are counted on their own.
Years with fewer than two babies (fewer than ten before 2004) show as zero in the chart and as – in the table.
Show the figures
| Year | Girls |
|---|---|
| 1998 | – |
| 1999 | – |
| 2000 | – |
| 2001 | – |
| 2002 | – |
| 2003 | – |
| 2004 | 8 |
| 2005 | 4 |
| 2006 | 12 |
| 2007 | 7 |
| 2008 | 6 |
| 2009 | 3 |
| 2010 | 8 |
| 2011 | 12 |
| 2012 | 11 |
| 2013 | 15 |
| 2014 | 13 |
| 2015 | 21 |
| 2016 | 15 |
| 2017 | 39 |
| 2018 | 36 |
| 2019 | 28 |
| 2020 | 41 |
| 2021 | 46 |
| 2022 | 48 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Women and girls |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 19 |
| 2000 | 24 |
| 2001 | 24 |
| 2002 | 28 |
| 2003 | 34 |
| 2004 | 43 |
| 2005 | 47 |
| 2006 | 59 |
| 2007 | 67 |
| 2008 | 75 |
| 2009 | 79 |
| 2010 | 86 |
| 2011 | 96 |
| 2012 | 110 |
| 2013 | 126 |
| 2014 | 138 |
| 2015 | 162 |
| 2016 | 180 |
| 2017 | 219 |
| 2018 | 260 |
| 2019 | 288 |
| 2020 | 335 |
Ophelia in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Ophelia.Hi! My name is Ophelia.
- Ophelia ringde och sa att hon blir lite sen.Ophelia called and said she'll be a bit late.
- Vet du om Ophelia kommer på festen på lördag?Do you know if Ophelia is coming to the party on Saturday?
- Ophelias mamma är lärare.Ophelia's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Ophelias mamma is Ophelia's mum.
More names
Questions about Ophelia
How do you pronounce Ophelia in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Ophelia in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Ophelia mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name from Ancient Greek. 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
How popular is Ophelia in Sweden?
48 babies were named Ophelia in 2022. In 2020, 335 people in Sweden had Ophelia as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been rising lately and peaked in 2022 in the years SCB covers (1998–2022).
Popularity figures: Statistics Sweden (SCB), name statistics (BE0001) from the Statistical Database, released as open data under CC0. Each spelling is counted as its own name, as SCB does. SCB's open name statistics end with babies named in 2022 and the population on 31 December 2020; SCB stopped producing name statistics in 2024 and now points to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for newer figures.
Origins, IPA and recordings: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), via kaikki.org; recordings from Lingua Libre on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Lingolib is not affiliated with SCB or Wiktionary. Sources last checked 7 October 2026.