Baby name dilemma

[LSbook]

Would you have concerns about the name Ophelia because of the potential ' I feel ya' thing if your surname was friend? Or is it over thinking things and should just go with the name you love?

I teach an Ophelia (and have for 6 years- secondary) and never once have I heard that said to/about/near her.

Sorry, I've just clicked your surname. Again, I didn't click straight away. So I'm on the fence. Sorry, not helpful.

well, if i was introduced to an Ophelia, my first thought WOULD be the going mad/suicide thing and I don't think I'm that unusual- like PP said, there aren't many other famous Ophelias are there, - so not like Henry at all.

I think the Shakespeare association is so dominant that it is difficult to get away from. Henry's different. There have been, probably literally, hundreds of well-known Henrys. I personally wouldn't be able to get past the association. How about a more positively connotated Shakespearean name, such as Miranda?

I think Portia's a name that should be more popular.

Dominant on MN. Not in the real World.

Little Lexi-Mae: Oh Ophelia. I simply can not believe you are named after that wretched woman offa Shakespeare

They still do Shakespeare at school, you know.

And kids do google their names. But who cares? "If ya luv it, hun, you use it"

Right. I'm sure 15 year olds will really care.

Fair enough. After all, we all know that the single most important thing about a baby's name is that it shout be what the mother wants.....

No, the most important thing is that it sounds nice! Which Ophelia does.

Dominant on MN. Not in the real World.

Well, it would also be dominant in my 'real world'.

OP, you might want to read Ophelia Friend out loud a few times and then think of what it sounds like

@Popskipiekin Aurelia is a nice name but personally I'd steer clear with names starting with "A" as the initials will become Ms A. Friend and if OP does go onto having a boy, maybe also avoid names starting with E as well as you'd end up with Mr E. Friend .

Names can be a minefield but having a noun as a surname is pretty cool but you'd have to bear in mind the potential problems with the initials. So you will need the write out the initials and read out the full name a few times so you can hear the full effect of what the name sounds like. For instance, I know an Iona Rose. Now, what does that sound like to you?

I love the name Ophelia. We couldn't decide between Freya and Ophelia so went with Freya-Ophelia. Freya day to day as it's quiet a mouthful. I never heard anything negative about the name

I love the name, but I wouldn't use it with your surname.

However, I wouldn't worry at all about the Shakespeare association. Parents have been naming their daughters Juliet for centuries without worrying at all about the association with that Shakespearean character's questionable mental health and suicide, so why worry about Ophelia?

I tried out Ophelia Friend out on my incredibly polite, respectful, mature 16 year old son. When he stopped laughing he said that he would be able to be straight faced if introduced to her, but could not vouch for his classmates.

"Parents have been naming their daughters Juliet for centuries without worrying at all about the association with that Shakespearean character's questionable mental health and suicide, so why worry about Ophelia?"

Because there aren't any other Ophelias. There are a ton of Juliets.

And Shakespeare didn't invent the name Juliet for the character- he did invent Ophelia.