Shakespeare Names
Shakespeare’s plays offer much more than Romeo and Juliet. This collection includes characters from the comedies, tragedies, romances, and histories, with the play named in every note.
| Save name | Name & connection | History 1926–2025, yearly counts; individually scaled | Babies 2025 · rank | 5-year rank movement | Peak year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The royal name at the center of several history plays. | 12,020#5 | Up 4 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
The countess at the center of Twelfth Night's crossed affections. | 13,544#1 | Steady | 2014 | ||
Viola's twin in Twelfth Night, also a character in The Tempest. | 8,605#16 | Up 3 rank positions in five years | 2016 | ||
The sharp-witted heroine of Much Ado About Nothing. | 583#508 | Up 44 rank positions in five years | 1921 | ||
Gloucester's elder son in King Lear. | 617#486 | Down 95 rank positions in five years | 2005 | ||
The shipwrecked heroine of Twelfth Night. | 247#1,015 | Up 104 rank positions in five years | 1918 | ||
Prospero's daughter in The Tempest. | 437#656 | Down 113 rank positions in five years | 1995 | ||
Julius Caesar, the title figure of the Roman history play. | 759#424 | Down 89 rank positions in five years | 1918 | ||
Rosalind's cousin and companion in As You Like It. | 351#774 | Up 16 rank positions in five years | 1915 | ||
Gloucester's illegitimate son in King Lear. | 199#1,082 | Up 335 rank positions in five years | 1923 | ||
The young man who courts Rosalind in As You Like It. | 275#873 | Down 101 rank positions in five years | 1987 | ||
A name used in both All's Well That Ends Well and A Midsummer Night's Dream. | 841#363 | Up 149 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
The young heroine of Romeo and Juliet. | 1,136#274 | Up 32 rank positions in five years | 2016 | ||
A young Athenian in A Midsummer Night's Dream. | 164#1,229 | Down 373 rank positions in five years | 1991 | ||
Sir Toby Belch, Olivia's uncle in Twelfth Night. | 234#979 | Up 160 rank positions in five years | 1975 | ||
The resourceful heroine of As You Like It. | 140#1,521 | Down 90 rank positions in five years | 1965 | ||
The young lover of Romeo and Juliet. | 1,129#302 | Up 76 rank positions in five years | 2024 | ||
Polonius's daughter in Hamlet. | 1,183#264 | Up 127 rank positions in five years | 2024 | ||
The outspoken defender of Hermione in The Winter's Tale. | 346#784 | Up 50 rank positions in five years | 2002 | ||
The youngest daughter in King Lear. | 258#981 | Up 25 rank positions in five years | 2015 | ||
The heiress who argues the trial in The Merchant of Venice. | 14#7,801 | Down 1,999 rank positions in five years | 1989 | ||
One of the conspirators in Julius Caesar. | 504#583 | Down 95 rank positions in five years | 2021 | ||
The prince who falls in love with Miranda in The Tempest. | 24#4,293 | Up 1,773 rank positions in five years | 1918 | ||
The king's daughter in Cymbeline. | 211#1,117 | Up 121 rank positions in five years | 2024 | ||
Hamlet's trusted friend in Hamlet. | 6#11,167 | Down 4,403 rank positions in five years | 2007 | ||
One of the young lovers in A Midsummer Night's Dream. | 95#1,719 | Up 2,641 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
The fairy queen in A Midsummer Night's Dream. | 7#13,075 | Down 4,710 rank positions in five years | 1972 | ||
The fairy king in A Midsummer Night's Dream. | 17#5,542 | Down 370 rank positions in five years | 2021 | ||
The wronged young woman in Much Ado About Nothing. | 5#15,764 | Down 6,600 rank positions in five years | 2016 | ||
Othello's wife in Othello. | —Unranked | — | 2017 | ||
One of the young lovers in A Midsummer Night's Dream. | —Unranked | — | 1914 | ||
The lost princess in The Winter's Tale. | —Unranked | — | 1955 | ||
Othello's lieutenant in Othello. | 7#9,875 | new | 2024 |
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Sources & methodology
Meaning summaries use Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0) and referenced name histories. Each name’s detail page includes its sources.
Membership on this list is editorial — we chose names that genuinely fit the theme. Every number is from official birth data: "—" means the name had fewer than 5 recorded uses in 2025, which makes it a genuinely rare pick today, not an invalid one. The dot marks whether the stats shown are for the girls' or boys' use of the name.