Shakespeare wrote the famous line “What is in a name? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Old Will loved to use unique names and even created some of his own. Here is a sampling of Shakespearean names categorized by work. If you’re a Shakespeare fan, or just an avid theater-goer, you might want to consider these character names when choosing a name for your baby. Which names are your favorite?
All’s Well that Ends Well
As You Like It
Comedy of Errors
Cymbeline
Hamlet
- BARNARDO
- CLAUDIUS
- CORNELIUS
- FRANCISCO
- GERTRUDE
- HAMLET
- HORATIO
- LAERTES
- MARCELLUS
- OPHELIA
- OSRIC
- POLONIUS
- REYNALDO
King Lear
Love’s Labour’s Lost
Macbeth
Measure for Measure
Merchant of Venice
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Much Ado About Nothing
Othello
Romeo & Juliet
Taming of the Shrew
- BAPTISTA
- BIANCA
- BIONDELLO
- CHRISTOPHER
- CURTIS
- GREMIO
- HORTENSIO
- KATHARINA
- LUCENTIO
- NATHANIEL
- PETRUCHIO
- PHILIP
- VENCENTIO
The Tempest
- ADRIAN
- ALONSO
- ARIEL
- CALIBAN
- CERES
- FERDINAND
- FRANCISCO
- GONZALO
- IRIS
- JUNO
- MIRANDA
- PROSPERO
- SEBASTIAN
- STEPHANO
Timon of Athens
Twelfth Night
Two Gentlemen of Verona
Winter’s Tale
What are your impressions of these Shakespearean names? Join us in our Facebook Group to chat about them!
Kees Andersen (they/them) is a longtime BabyNames.com member and content creator for the site. They first became interested in names when researching for stories they were writing as a young child and it snowballed into a lifelong passion. Kees attended Western Washington University and majored in history, which helped inspire a love of historical names.
Kees resides in Washington state with husband Peyton and two cats Nimue and Caspian. In their spare time they love to travel, read, fawn over their cats, and take photos.
