girls' name ★ peaked 2024

Ophelia

Meaning help, aid, succour Gender Girl Rank 2025 #264 Trend ↑ Rising 52%

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”).

Rank 2025
#264
among girls · ↓5 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
1,183
named Ophelia · -3% vs 2024
How common
1 in 1,359
girls born in 2025
Peak year
2024
1,223 babies
All-time total
25,785
#905 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Ophelia popularity over time

25,785 babies have been named Ophelia since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.250.50.75118801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s 580 – 580 58 – #232
1890s 899 – 899 90 +55% #265
1900s 1,236 – 1,236 124 +37% #268
1910s 2,372 5 2,377 238 +92% #297
1920s 3,276 10 3,286 329 +38% #341
1930s 1,948 – 1,948 195 -41% #416
1940s 1,392 – 1,392 139 -29% #570
1950s 1,388 – 1,388 139 0% #651
1960s 720 – 720 72 -48% #1,060
1970s 397 – 397 40 -45% #1,619
1980s 295 – 295 30 -26% #2,291
1990s 252 – 252 25 -15% #3,801
2000s 474 – 474 47 +88% #2,048
2010s 3,981 – 3,981 398 +740% #373
2020s (to 2025) 6,560 – 6,560 1,093 +175% #259

Where Ophelia is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 1,262 0.79 #246
2027 1,333 0.83 #230
2028 1,396 0.87 #221
2029 1,453 0.90 #208
2030 1,502 0.93 #203

Where Ophelia is most popular

Girls named Ophelia per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.711 per 1,000. Strongest in New Hampshire, Maine, and Montana.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Ophelia born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
New Hampshire 49 2.65 +273%
Maine 41 2.65 +273%
Montana 35 2.59 +264%
Wyoming 11 2.58 +263%
Nebraska 74 2.06 +190%
Oregon 126 1.94 +172%
Idaho 63 1.88 +165%
South Dakota 26 1.82 +156%
Iowa 94 1.61 +126%
Indiana 223 1.59 +123%
Arkansas 80 1.51 +113%
Colorado 168 1.51 +112%
North Dakota 19 1.45 +103%
New Mexico 34 1.40 +97%
West Virginia 36 1.37 +93%
Oklahoma 101 1.37 +93%
Wisconsin 139 1.35 +90%
Kansas 74 1.28 +80%
Washington 183 1.27 +78%
Missouri 151 1.25 +76%
Utah 104 1.25 +76%
Vermont 6 1.24 +74%
Nevada 57 1.23 +73%
Michigan 220 1.21 +70%
Minnesota 114 1.06 +49%
Ohio 246 1.04 +46%
Arizona 145 1.03 +45%
Tennessee 154 0.972 +37%
Kentucky 81 0.947 +33%
Illinois 216 0.944 +33%
Pennsylvania 200 0.846 +19%
Louisiana 74 0.845 +19%
South Carolina 74 0.823 +16%
Virginia 136 0.798 +12%
North Carolina 179 0.786 +11%
Connecticut 45 0.773 +9%
Massachusetts 90 0.744 +5%
Alabama 68 0.724 ≈ national
Rhode Island 9 0.719 ≈ national
Georgia 159 0.700 ≈ national
Alaska 6 0.697 ≈ national
Florida 267 0.624 -12%
New York 238 0.601 -15%
Maryland 59 0.557 -22%
Texas 429 0.533 -25%
California 447 0.532 -25%
Hawaii 6 0.523 -26%
Mississippi 22 0.470 -34%
New Jersey 82 0.454 -36%
Delaware 5 0.441 -38%
District of Columbia – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Ophelia

Ophelia is moderately common for girls in the United States, ranked #264 in 2025 with 1,183 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 25,785 American babies have been named Ophelia. Its peak came in 2024, when 1,223 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2020s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Ophelia stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Ophelia?

The median living Ophelia is about 7 years old; half are between 3 and 42. An estimated 15 thousand people named Ophelia are alive in the United States today.

median 7 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Ophelia year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 1,183 #264 – –
2024 1,223 #259 – –
2023 1,177 #265 – –
2022 1,169 #271 – –
2021 1,014 #321 – –
2020 794 #391 – –
2019 813 #385 – –
2018 839 #373 – –
2017 765 #417 – –
2016 533 #582 – –
2015 276 #980 – –
2014 226 #1,122 – –
2013 185 #1,280 – –
2012 139 #1,573 – –
2011 109 #1,850 – –
2010 96 #2,072 – –
2009 76 #2,502 – –
2008 101 #2,048 – –
2007 66 #2,778 – –
2006 47 #3,456 – –
2005 43 #3,488 – –
2004 33 #4,254 – –
2003 37 #3,793 – –
2002 32 #4,049 – –
2001 18 #6,249 – –
2000 21 #5,448 – –
1995 22 #4,641 – –
1990 27 #3,879 – –
1985 35 #2,738 – –
1980 27 #3,189 – –
1975 38 #2,223 – –
1970 50 #1,796 – –
1965 67 #1,343 – –
1960 103 #1,060 – –
1955 111 #935 – –
1950 172 #651 – –
1945 119 #685 – –
1940 149 #570 – –
1935 186 #468 – –
1930 251 #416 – –
1925 364 #358 – –
1920 353 #348 – –
1915 260 #376 5 #4,235
1910 169 #297 – –
1905 125 #299 – –
1900 150 #268 – –
1895 91 #304 – –
1890 65 #313 – –
1885 51 #278 – –
1880 44 #236 – –

Famous people named Ophelia

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Ophelia Lovibond English actress (born 1986) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Ophelia, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Ophelia?

The median living Ophelia is about 7 years old. Half of all living Ophelias are between 3 and 42 years old.

How many people named Ophelia are alive today?

An estimated 15 thousand people named Ophelia are alive in the United States, based on 25,785 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Ophelia mean?

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”).

How popular is the name Ophelia in 2025?

Ophelia ranked #264 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 1,183 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Ophelia?

25,785 babies have been named Ophelia in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Ophelia most popular?

Ophelia peaked in 2024, when 1,223 newborns received the name.

Is Ophelia a boy or girl name?

Ophelia is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Ophelia rising or falling?

Ophelia is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Ophelia become more popular?

Ophelia is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 1,502 girls named Ophelia in 2030, which would rank around #203. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Ophelia?

Well-known people named Ophelia include Ophelia Lovibond (actor).

Names like Ophelia

Names that sound and feel close to Ophelia: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Ophelia with similar names → More names starting with O →