Given name
Ofelia
“help”·“one who offers help to others”
Ofelia is a variant of Ophelia. Interpretations include “help” (Greek) and “one who offers help to others” (Greek). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Ofelia is a variant of Ophelia. Interpretations include “help” (Greek) and “one who offers help to others” (Greek). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Ofelia is a variant of Ophelia. An origin associated with Ophelia is Greek.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
Possibly from Spanish Ofelia, from Italian Ofelia.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1900. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Ofelia is a variant of Ophelia. The history of Ophelia gives this family its wider story. The Italian writer Jacopo Sannazzaro appears to have used Ophelia before Shakespeare adopted it for Hamlet. The proposed Greek connection with “help” belongs to that earlier literary formation; in Hamlet, Ophelia is Polonius’s daughter.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Ofelia through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 8,997
- 5 boys · 8,992 girls
- Most popular year
- 1929
- 154 babies
- 2025
- 87
- #2,148 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +13%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 87 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 2,148 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 13.2% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 154 in 1929. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (17). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 23,765 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Ofelia’s family of names
In Filipino usage, Ofelia shares an earlier linguistic root with Ophelia. In Polish usage, Ofelia has a conventional equivalent in the French form Ophélia. Ofelia has a related form in Ophelia.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Ofelia has relatives in 5 languages.
4 related names in 5 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 3
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 3
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 3
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Ofelia
- Ofelia MedinaMexican actress (born 1950)
- Ofelia MalinovItalian volleyball playerborn 1996
- Ofelia HooperPanamanian academic and poet (1900-1981)
- Ofelia Rodríguez AcostaCuban activist1902–1975
- Ofelia GuilmáinSpanish-Mexican actress (1921–2005)
- Ofelia Uribe de AcostaColombian suffragist (1900-1988)
- Ofelia MontescoPeruvian-Mexican actress (1936–1983)
- Ofelia ZepedaAmerican linguistborn 1954
- Ofelia CanoMexican actress (born 1959)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Ofelia, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Rosaline
Rosaline is a relative of Rosalind with two Shakespearean appearances.
>99% girls
Imogene
“a maiden” · “one who is innocent and pure”
>99% girls
Celia
“heaven”
>99% girls
Josefina
Josefina is a feminine given name. It is used in Spanish, Swedish, Catalan, and Faroese.
>99% girls
Odessa
“one who wanders; an angry woman”
>99% girls
Novella
Novella is a surname from Italian, ultimately from Catalan. It is used in English and Italian.
>99% girls
Louella
“a famous warrior”
>99% girls
Norma
“a man from the north”
>99% girls