Perdita & Marina: Shakespearean names
The immense creativity of Shakespeare extended to the names he gave the characters in his plays.
It is to him that we owe the popularity of names such as Jessica, Imogen and Olivia. Instead of choosing the more common Elizabethan names, like Jane, Margaret and Mary, he chose more poetic ones. He seems to have taken pleasure in creating new names as well; for instance, Juliet was his own translation of the Italian ‘Giulietta’, Perdita in A Winter’s Tale was coined from the Latin for ‘lost’, and Marina was invented due to its association with the sea.
Here are some names used by Shakespeare for his characters to inspire your baby naming…
| Name | Play |
| Aaron | Titus Andronicus |
| Abram | Romeo & Juliet |
| Adam | As You Like It |
| Adrian | The Tempest |
| Adriana | Comedy of Errors |
| Adriano | Love’s Labour’s Lost |
| Aedile | Coriolanus |
| Aegeon | Comedy of Errors |
| Aemilia | Comedy of Errors |
| Aemilius | Titus Andronicus |
| Albany | King Lear |
| Alexander | Troilus and Cressida |
| Alexas | Antony and Cleopatra |
| Alice | Henry V |
| Aliena | As You Like It |
| Alonso | The Tempest |
| Amiens | As You Like It |
| Andromache | Troilus and Cressida |
| Andronicus | Titus Andronicus |
| Angelo | The Comedy of Errors and other plays |
| Angus | Macbeth |
| Anne | Henry VIII, Richard III |
| Anthony | Romeo and Juliet |
| Antigonus | Winter’s Tale |
| Antipholus | Comedy of Errors |
| Antonio | The Tempest and other plays |
| Antony | Julius Caeser, Antony and Cleopatra |
| Archidamus | Winter’s Tale |
| Ariel | The Tempest |
| Armado | Love’s Labour’s Lost |
| Aragon | The Merchant of Venice |
| Arviragus | Cymbeline |
| Audrey | As You Like It |
| Aumerle | Richard II |
| Balthasar | Romeo and Juliet, and other plays |
| Banquo | Macbeth |
| Baptista | Taming of the Shrew |
| Bardolph | Merry Wives of Windsor |
| Barnardine | Measure for Measure |
| Barnardo | Hamlet |
| Bartholomew | The Taming of the Shrew |
| Bassanio | Merchant of Venice |
| Beatrice | Much Ado About Nothing |
| Beaumont | Henry V |
| Belarius | Cymbeline |
| Benedick | Much Ado About Nothing |
| Benvolio | Romeo & Juliet |
| Berkeley | Richard III |
| Berri | Henry V |
| Bertram | All’s Well that Ends Well |
| Bianca | Othello, Taming of the Shrew |
| Biondello | Taming of the Shrew, Othello |
| Boyet | Love’s Labour’s Lost |
| Brabantio | Othello |
| Brandon | Henry VIII |
| Bretagne | Henry V |
| Brutus | Julius Caesar, Coriolanus |
| Cadwal | Cymbeline |
| Caesar | Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra |
| Caliban | The Tempest |
| Camillo | Winter’s Tale |
| Caphis | Timon of Athens |
| Cassio | Othello |
| Celia | As You Like It |
| Ceres | The Tempest |
| Christopher | Taming of the Shrew |
| Claudio | (Several Plays) |
| Claudius | Hamlet |
| Cleomenes | Winter’s Tale |
| Cloten | Cymbeline |
| Cordelia | King Lear |
| Corin | As You Like It |
| Cornelius | Hamlet, Cymbaline |
| Costard | Love’s Labour’s Lost |
| Curan | King Lear |
| Curio | Twelfth Night |
| Curtis | Taming of the Shrew |
| Cymbeline | Cymbeline |
| Demetrius | Midsummer-Night’s Dream |
| Desdemona | Othello |
| Diana | All’s Well that Ends Well |
| Dion | Winter’s Tale |
| Dogberry | Much Ado About Nothing |
| Donalbain | Macbeth |
| Dorcas | Winter’s Tale |
| Dromio | Comedy of Errors |
| Dull | Love’s Labour’s Lost |
| Duncan | Macbeth |
| Edgar | King Lear |
| Edmund | King Lear |
| Egeus | Midsummer-Night’s Dream |
| Eglamour | Two Gentlemen of Verona |
| Elbow | Measure for Measure |
| Emilia | Othello, Winter’s Tale |
| Escalus | Measure for Measure, Romeo & Juliet |
| Fabian | Twelfth Night |
| Fenton | Merry Wives of Windsor |
| Ferdinand | Love’s Labour’s Lost, The Tempest |
| Feste | Twelfth Night |
| Flavius | Timon of Athens |
| Fleance | Macbeth |
| Florizel | Winter’s Tale |
| Fortinbras | Hamlet |
| Francisca | Measure for Measure |
| Francisco | Hamlet, The Tempest |
| Frederick | As You Like It |
| Froth | Measure for Measure |
| Gertrude | Hamlet |
| Goneril | King Lear |
| Gonzalo | The Tempest |
| Gratiano | Merchant of Venice |
| Gregory | Romeo & Juliet |
| Gremio | Taming of the Shrew |
| Guiderius | Cymbeline |
| Hamlet | Hamlet |
| Hecate | Macbeth |
| Helen | Cymbeline |
| Hermia | Midsummer-Night’s Dream |
| Hermione | Winter’s Tale |
| Hero (female) | Much Ado About Nothing |
| Hippolyta | Midsummer-Night’s Dream |
| Holofernes | Love’s Labour’s Lost |
| Horatio | Hamlet |
| Hortensio | Taming of the Shrew |
| Hortensius | Timon of Athens |
| Iago | Othello |
| Imogen | Cymbeline |
| Iris | The Tempest |
| Isabella | Measure for Measure |
| Jaquenetta | Love’s Labour’s Lost |
| Jaques | As You Like It |
| Jessica | Merchant of Venice |
| Julia | Two Gentlemen of Verona |
| Juliet | Romeo & Juliet, Measure for Measure |
| Juno | The Tempest |
| Katharina | Taming of the Shrew |
| Katharine | (in several plays) |
| Laertes | Hamlet |
| Lafeu | All’s Well that Ends Well |
| Lancelot | Merchant of Venice |
| Launce | Two Gentlemen of Verona |
| Lavache | All’s Well that Ends Well |
| Lavinia | Titus Andronicus |
| Lennox | Macbeth |
| Leonardo | Merchant of Venice |
| Leonato | Much Ado About Nothing |
| Leontes | Winter’s Tale |
| Lodovico | Othello |
| Lorenzo | Merchant of Venice |
| Luce | Comedy of Errors |
| Lucentio | Taming of the Shrew |
| Lucetta | Two Gentlemen of Verona |
| Luciana | Comedy of Errors |
| Lucilius | Timon of Athens |
| Lucio | Measure for Measure |
| Lysander | Midsummer-Night’s Dream |
| Malcolm | Macbeth |
| Malvolio | Twelfth Night |
| Mamillius | Winter’s Tale |
| Marcellus | Hamlet |
| Margaret | Much Ado About Nothing |
| Maria | Love’s Labour’s Lost, Twelfth Night |
| Mariana | (in several plays) |
| Mercade | Love’s Labour’s Lost |
| Mercutio | Romeo & Juliet |
| Miranda | The Tempest |
| Montano | Othello |
| Mopsa | Winter’s Tale |
| Moth | Love’s Labour’s Lost |
| Nathaniel | Taming of the Shrew |
| Nell | Comedy of Errors |
| Nerissa | Merchant of Venice |
| Nym | Merry Wives of Windsor |
| Oberon | Midsummer-Night’s Dream |
| Oliver | As You Like It |
| Olivia | Twelfth Night |
| Ophelia | Hamlet |
| Orlando | As You Like It |
| Orsino | Twelfth Night |
| Osric | Hamlet |
| Oswald | King Lear |
| Othello | Othello |
