For some people, William Shakespeare is a dead white guy who wrote a bunch of plays and poems that they were forced to read and pretend to understand in high school. But for others, he is the greatest writer of all time, skilled at capturing the intricacies of human emotion in a way that manages to translate in the 21st century. In fact, some people are such big fans of the English playwright, poet, and actor that they want to name their children after characters in his written works. And why not? There are plenty of baby names inspired by books, classic literature, writers, and children’s books. Those looking for Shakespearean names, in particular, are in luck: The Bard penned 39 plays, 154 sonnets, and three long narrative poems, leaving us with plenty of inspiration.

Even though Shakespeare lived from 1564 to 1616, many of the names of his characters are classics that aren’t out-of-place today. Fun fact: Shakespeare’s wife’s name was Anne Hathaway (but no, not that one), and they had three children together — Susanna, Judith, and Hamnet (not a typo). If you’re interested and Shakespearean names, there’s no better place to start looking for inspiration than some of the writer’s best-known plays, including Romeo & Juliet, Love’s Labor’s Lost, The Taming of the Shrew, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Merchant of Venice, Much Ado About Nothing, As You Like It, Twelfth Night, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth, King Lear, and The Tempest, among others.

Or, you can save yourself the hassle and check out our list of Shakespearean names below. Without further ado, what follows are Shakespearean names for girls, boys, and some that are gender-neutral, along with the name of the play in which the character appeared.

Shakespearean Names for Girls

1. Adriana — The Comedy of Errors
2. Alice — Henry V
3. Aliena — As You Like It
4. Anne — Henry VIII, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Richard III
5. Ariel — The Tempest
6. Audrey — As You Like It
7. Beatrice — Much Ado About Nothing
8. Bianca — The Taming of the Shrew, Othello
9. Calpurnia — Julius Caesar
10. Cassandra — Troilus and Cressida
11. Celia — As You Like It
12. Ceres — The Tempest
13. Cleopatra — Antony and Cleopatra
14. Cordelia — King Lear
15. Cressida — Troilus and Cressida
16. Cymbeline — Cymbeline
17. Desdemona — Othello
18. Diana — All’s Well That Ends Well
19. Dionyza — Pericles
20. Dolabella — Antony and Cleopatra
21. Eleanor — King John
22. Elizabeth — Henry VIII, Henry VI/Richard III
23. Emilia — The Comedy of Errors, The Winter’s Tale, Othello, The Two Noble Kinsmen
24. Gertrude — Hamlet
25. Helen — Troilus and Cressida, All’s Well That Ends Well
26. Helena — A Midsummer Night’s Dream
27. Hermia — A Midsummer Night’s Dream
28. Hermione — The Winter’s Tale
29. Imogen — Cymbeline
30. Iris — The Tempest
31. Isabel — Richard II, Henry V
32. Isabella — Measure for Measure
33. Isidore — Timon of Athens
34. Jessica — The Merchant of Venice
35. Julia — The Two Gentlemen of Verona
36. Juliet — Romeo and Juliet, Measure for Measure
37. Juno — The Tempest
38. Katharine — Love’s Labour’s Lost, Henry V
39. Katherina — The Taming of the Shrew
40. Katherine — Henry VIII
41. Lavinia — Titus Andronicus
42. Leonine — Pericles
43. Luciana — The Comedy of Errors
44. Margaret — Henry VI/Richard III, Much Ado About Nothing
45. Margery — Henry VI
46. Maria — Love’s Labour’s Lost, Twelfth Night
47. Mariana — All’s Well That Ends Well, Measure for Measure
48. Marina — Pericles
49. Miranda — The Tempest
50. Octavia — Antony and Cleopatra
51. Olivia — Twelfth Night
52. Ophelia — Hamlet
53. Paulina — The Winter’s Tale
54. Phebe — As You Like It
55. Portia — The Merchant of Venice, Julius Caesar
56. Rosalind — As You Like It
57. Rosaline — Love’s Labor’s Lost
58. Silvia — The Two Gentlemen of Verona
59. Tamora — Titus Andronicus
60. Titania — A Midsummer Night’s Dream
61. Ursula — Much Ado About Nothing
62. Valeria — Coriolanus
63. Viola — Twelfth Night

Shakespearean Names for Boys

1. Aaron — Titus Andronicus
2. Abram — Romeo and Juliet
3. Achilles — Troilus and Cressida
4. Adam — As You Like It
5. Ajax — Troilus and Cressida
6. Alexander — Troilus and Cressida
7. Alonso — The Tempest
8. Angelo — The Comedy of Errors, Measure for Measure
9. Antonio — The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Twelfth Night, The Merchant of Venice, The Tempest, Much Ado About Nothing
10. Aragon — The Merchant of Venice
11. Arthur — King John
12. Balthasar — The Comedy of Errors, The Merchant of Venice, Romeo and Juliet, Much Ado About Nothing
13. Barnardo — Hamlet
14. Bartholomew — The Taming of the Shrew
15. Benedick — Much Ado About Nothing
16. Benvolio — Romeo and Juliet
17. Berri — Henry V
18. Bertram — All’s Well That Ends Well
19. Brandon — Henry VIII
20. Caliban — The Tempest
21. Caesar — Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra
22. Camillo — The Winter’s Tale
23. Cassio — Othello
24. Cassius — Julius Caesar
25. Cato — Julius Caesar
26. Cesario — Twelfth Night
27. Charles — As You Like It
28. Clarence — Richard III, Henry IV/Henry V
29. Claudio — Much Ado About Nothing, Measure for Measure
30. Claudius — Julius Caesar
31. Cornelius — Hamlet, Cymbeline
32. Curan — King Lear
33. Curtis — The Taming of the Shrew
34. Davy — Henry IV
35. Decius — Julius Caesar
36. Demetrius — A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Titus Andronicus, Antony and Cleopatra
37. Dennis — As You Like It
38. Diomedes — Troilus and Cressida, Antony and Cleopatra
39. Donalbain — Macbeth
40. Douglas — Henry IV
41. Duncan — Macbeth
42. Edgar — King Lear
43. Edmund — King Lear
44. Edward — Henry VI/Richard III
45. Egeon — The Comedy of Errors
46. Emmanuel — Henry VI
47. Fabian — Twelfth Night
48. Ferdinand — The Tempest, Love’s Labor’s Lost
49. Francis — Henry IV
50. Francisco — Hamlet, The Tempest
51. Frederick — As You Like It
52. George — Henry VI
53. Gonzalo — The Tempest
54. Gregory — Romeo and Juliet
55. Hamlet — Hamlet
56. Hector — Troilus and Cressida
57. Henry — King John, Henry IV, Henry VIII, Henry VI, Henry V
58. Hubert — King John
59. Iago — Othello
60. Jamy — Henry V
61. Jaques — As You Like It
62. John — King John
63. Joseph — The Taming of the Shrew
64. Laertes — Hamlet
65. Lance — The Two Gentlemen of Verona
66. Launcelot — The Merchant of Venice
67. Lennox — Macbeth
68. Leonardo — The Merchant of Venice
69. Lorenzo — The Merchant of Venice
70. Lucio — Measure for Measure
71. Lucius — Julius Caesar, Titus Andronicus, Timon of Athens
72. Lysander — A Midsummer Night’s Dream
73. Macbeth — Macbeth
74. Malcolm — Macbeth
75. Marcellus — Hamlet
76. Mercutio — Romeo and Juliet
77. Michael — Henry VI, Henry IV
78. Mortimer — Henry VI
79. Morton — Henry IV
80. Oberon — A Midsummer Night’s Dream
81. Octavius — Julius Caesar
82. Oliver — As You Like It
83. Orlando — As You Like It
84. Orsino — Twelfth Night
85. Oswald — King Lear
86. Othello — Othello
87. Peter — Henry VI Part 2, Romeo and Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew
88. Petruchio — Romeo and Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew
89. Philip — The Taming of the Shrew, King John
90. Philo — Antony and Cleopatra
91. Prospero — The Tempest
92. Puck — A Midsummer Night’s Dream
93. Reynaldo — Hamlet, All’s Well That Ends Well
94. Richard — Richard II, Richard III
95. Robert — King John
96. Roderigo — Othello
97. Romeo — Romeo and Juliet
98. Ross — Richard II
99. Sebastian — The Tempest, Twelfth Night, The Two Gentlemen of Verona
100. Silvius — As You Like It
101. Timon — Timon of Athens
102. Titinius — Julius Caesar
103. Toby — Twelfth Night
104. Tybalt — Romeo and Juliet
105. Ulysses — Troilus and Cressida
106. Usher — Coriolanus
107. Vincentio — Measure for Measure, The Taming of the Shrew
108. William — As You Like It

Gender-Neutral Shakespearean Names

1. Adrian — Coriolanus, The Tempest
2. Albany — King Lear
3. Alexas — Antony and Cleopatra
4. Caius — Julius Caesar, Titus Andronicus
5. Cicero — Julius Caesar
6. Corin — As You Like It
7. Derby — Richard III
8. Dion — The Winter’s Tale
9. Dorcas — The Winter’s Tale
10. Fenton — Merry Wives of Windsor
11. Griffith — Henry VIII
12. Hero — Much Ado About Nothing
13. Jupiter — Cymbeline
14. Justice — Measure for Measure
15. Lincoln — Henry VIII
16. Luce — The Comedy of Errors
17. Morgan — Cymbeline
18. Paris — Romeo and Juliet, Troilus and Cressida
19. Regan — King Lear
20. Robin — A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Merry Wives of Windsor
21. Shaw — Richard III
22. Valentine — Titus Andronicus, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Twelfth Night

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