Active discussions

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Original poster

Is this a terrible name?

141 replies

RedPandaFluff · 04/03/2023 17:26

DH and I have just had a huge (lighthearted!) barney about what to call DD, due in summer. I love the name Ophelia and I know she's a tragic Shakespearean character but still love it and would happily use it (although obviously we won't use it as we won't both be in agreement!)

DH is adamant that it's a terrible name and doesn't think that anyone else would feel like me (ie make the connection but still think it's a beautiful name).

Naturally, the only thing for it is to throw it open to mumsnetters Grin

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
Set a reminder
wheelywheelynice · 05/03/2023 09:21

I like it but wouldn't use it, she'd be the butt of too many jokes

daisypond · 05/03/2023 09:27

ZoyaTheDestroyer · 05/03/2023 09:00

I think you might be on to something there - and taboos around madness are probably also relevant.

Juliet seems to get a pass because her suicide is romantic Hmm

Show quote history

Not just that, but because she has autonomy. She chooses, she thinks, she acts, she tries to control her destiny, she has courage etc.

daisypond · 05/03/2023 09:31

ThanksItHasPockets · 05/03/2023 08:55

It’s noticeable that a lot of people consider Ophelia to be more tragic than other heroines who arguably meet worse fates. I suspect it’s linked to the taboo / stigma associated with suicide.

Show quote history

Ophelia isn’t tragic at all - a tragic figure has to be brought down by something of their own making. Ophelia is unfortunate, a victim to awful people and circumstances, but she’s not tragic.

ZoyaTheDestroyer · 05/03/2023 09:36

daisypond · 05/03/2023 08:54

With Cordelia, it’s very different. She has courage, boldness, autonomy, moral rectitude in the face of danger, is killed, etc. Ophelia is the opposite. She’s a pawn, weak, a victim, does what she’s told, goes insane, kills herself.

Show quote history

That's getting in to her character rather than her fate, which wasn't the original statement, but I do take your point.

There are plenty of weak pawns amongst Shakespeare's women whose names are used regularly because they are given a 'happy' ending. I have always thought Hero's fate is one of the saddest in Shakespeare, forced to marry the man who was so quick to think the worst of her and shame her publicly. I worry about what is in store for Miranda back in Naples, too.

It looks like poor Ophelia is in the same category as Lavinia and Desdemona - a tragic fate and little personality to redeem her. That being said, Emilia's popularity hasn't been affected by being in that club. I suppose it goes to show there isn't much logic to the connotations that names accrue over 450ish years.

ThanksItHasPockets · 05/03/2023 09:43

daisypond · 05/03/2023 09:31

Ophelia isn’t tragic at all - a tragic figure has to be brought down by something of their own making. Ophelia is unfortunate, a victim to awful people and circumstances, but she’s not tragic.

Show quote history

In a strictly Aristotelian sense, yes, but I don't think most people are that precise in their use of the adjective. I was quoting @RosesAndHellebores who described her as having tragic associations.

anunlikelyseahorse · 05/03/2023 11:31

The name always brings to mind Millais' painting, and the story of his model Elizabeth Siddle catching a severe cold after the oil lamps went out leading to a very cold bath.

ThanksItHasPockets · 05/03/2023 11:39

anunlikelyseahorse · 05/03/2023 11:31

The name always brings to mind Millais' painting, and the story of his model Elizabeth Siddle catching a severe cold after the oil lamps went out leading to a very cold bath.

Lizzie Siddal’s story is desperately sad and certainly does nothing to rehabilitate the case for Ophelia Sad

daisypond · 05/03/2023 12:05

ThanksItHasPockets · 05/03/2023 11:39

Lizzie Siddal’s story is desperately sad and certainly does nothing to rehabilitate the case for Ophelia Sad

Show quote history

I agree. That painting, and the story behind it, doesn’t do the name any favours.

RosesAndHellebores · 05/03/2023 14:16

Yes I agree, not least because Lizzie Siddal was addicted to laudanum, and Rossetti had her interred after her burial to retrieve some poems he had buried with her.

Twazique · 05/03/2023 18:30

How about Delphine?

What else is on your list OP?

FatGirlSwim · 05/03/2023 18:36

I like it and I know an Ophelia. She’s about five.

SomePeopleAreJustBloodyStupid · 05/03/2023 18:38

It depends on your surname. Ophelia O'Tolle would be awful, as would Ophelia Smith, for example.

17caterpillars1mouse · 06/03/2023 10:03

I know a 4 year old Ophelia. I wasn't sure when her birth was first announced, but I like it now.

I think I saw that Ophelia is in the top 100 so plenty of people definitely agree with you. It's not 'out there' if it's in the top 100

17caterpillars1mouse · 06/03/2023 10:05

Sorry I've just checked it's 116 so just outside the top 100 but definitely on the up. Over 400 baby girls were given the name in 2021

ririca · 06/03/2023 12:06

Maybe it's a cultural thing (I'm not English)... But, while people in my culture are aware of Shakespeare, they're unlikely to be deeply invested in it or really care about the Shakespearean connotations of a name. So perhaps it depends on where you live and your community.

LightHousePanda · 06/03/2023 13:49

You're not wrong as people do like it and use it. It's not to my preference. Juliet is a tragic character too and no one ever brings that up on threads as much as it's brought up on Ophelia.

ZoyaTheDestroyer · 06/03/2023 13:58

ririca · 06/03/2023 12:06

Maybe it's a cultural thing (I'm not English)... But, while people in my culture are aware of Shakespeare, they're unlikely to be deeply invested in it or really care about the Shakespearean connotations of a name. So perhaps it depends on where you live and your community.

TBH I think the average person in the UK will have only passing familiarity with Hamlet. It is not taught at GCSE and is much less widely taught in other phases than Macbeth, R&J, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Tempest etc.

It's much more likely that there is a significant overlap between people who are knowledgeable about Shakespeare, and people who are interested in names and like to discuss them with strangers on the internet!

GeneralDeborah · 06/03/2023 16:40

It’s a pretty name. But Ophelia the Shakespeare character was so much of an object. Besides her drowning, she’s only really remembered for being desperately unhappy and at the mercy of her deadleg boyfriend and her circumstances.
It’s not a type of namesake I’d personally want to saddle a kid with. If you like the tragic end but want to add in a bit of oomph you could go for Boudicca? Or Medea! That’s a very underused girl’s name…

Roselilly36 · 06/03/2023 16:43

I like it, I know an Ophelia, pretty name.

BellatrixLestrangesHeatedCurlers · 06/03/2023 16:54

I have a friend called Ophelia, but she is an actress so I guess it works. I like the name.

MushMonster · 06/03/2023 16:57

I would say no.

BabyTa · 06/03/2023 17:04

I know two baby Ophelias! So it's definitely a popular name at the moment so if you like it definitely go with it

BitOutOfPractice · 06/03/2023 17:06

I hope your surname isn't Bott. That's what a girl at uni called Ophelia used to get called.

Original poster
RedPandaFluff · 06/03/2023 17:08

I reckon there are roughly equal number of ayes and nays, so I consider myself proven correct Grin

I still think it's lovely but hopefully we'll find a name that we both agree on soon. Well, within the next 4-5 months, anyway!

OP posts:
Doone21 · 06/03/2023 19:03

Beautiful. Can you compromise on it as a middle name?