Meaning and background
The story behind Ophelia
Ophelia has a literary reputation, especially through the character in Shakespeare's *Hamlet*. Its history did not begin there: the name appears in earlier Renaissance literature. The form is connected with Greek *ōphéleia*, 'help' or 'advantage', which gives it a clearer etymology than a modern invented meaning. As a dog name it is longer and more formal than the abbreviated alternatives that naturally suggest themselves.
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About Ophelia
Recorded as a dog’s name
Ophelia appears in 15 dog licence records in the 2026 New York City dataset.
How to read this count
These records cover New York City and may count the same dog in more than one licence period. They are not a national popularity ranking.
Pronunciation and rhythm
/əfiljə/
US English sound sequence, converted from the CMU dictionary. Stress marks are shown separately.
Stress on the second syllable in the recorded US readings.
View dictionary notation
/əfiljə/ · primary stress on syllable 2AH0 F IY1 L Y AH0
These are US dictionary readings. Personal, regional and other language pronunciations may differ.
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Sources and research notes (2)
- New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene NYC Dog Licensing Dataset — extract_year 2026 — Dog licence periods, not unique dogs; NYC only. No owner-level fields retrieved.
- Carnegie Mellon University / CMU Sphinx maintainers CMU US English Pronouncing Dictionary — US English dictionary readings; not owner-specific or exhaustive multilingual pronunciation
References support the individual facts shown. A source link does not mean the entire profile has been verified.