The great bard, William Shakespeare, was clearly a lover of names. The names he chose not only reflected the personality or situation of the character -- much like the choices chosen by the ancient Greeks for their mythological characters --
several, such as Jessica, Malvolio, Miranda, Nerissa and Perdita, are attribued as being coined by him; the appropriate meanings of which he derived from Greek or Latin. Others were historic or mythological characters, brought to subjective and evocative life in his plays.
Here are names borne by characters in the works of Shakespeare. Some characters are only referenced by their surname.
Aaron Abhorson Abraham Achilles Adam Adrian Adriano Aegeon Aemilius Aeneas Agamemnon Ajax Alarbus Alcibiades Alexander Alexas Alonso Agrippa Amiens Andrew Andronicus Angelo Angus Antenor Anthony Antigonus Antiochus Antipholus Antonio Apemantus Ariel Archibald Archidamus Artemidorus Arthur Arviragus Aufidius Autolycus Balthazar Banquo Baptista Bardolph Barnardine Bassanio Basset Bassianus Bates Belarius Benedick Benvolio Berkeley Bernardo Bertram Biondello Biron Blunt Borachio Branbantio Brandon Brutus Boult Boyet Cadwal Caesar Caithness Caius Calchas Caliban Camillo Canidius Caphis Capucius Capulet Casca Cassio Cassius Cato |
Cerimon Charles Chatillon Chiron Christopher Cicero Cinna Claudio Claudius Cleomenes Cleon Cloten Clitus Cominius Conrade Corin Coriolanus Cornelius Costard Court Cranmer Curan Curio Curtis Cymbeline Dardanius Davy Decius Deiphobus Demetrius Dennis Dercetas Dick Diomedes Dion Dogberry Dolabella Domitius Donalbain Dromio Dumain Duncan Edgar Edmund Edward Egeus Eglamour Elbow Enobarbus Eros Escalus Escanes Euphronius Fabian Fang Fenton Ferdinand Feste Flaminius Flavius Fleance Florizel Fluellen Fortinbras Francis Francisco Frank Frederick Froth Gadshill Gallus George Gobbo Gonzalo Gower Granpre Gratiano |
Gregory Gremio Griffith Grumio Guiderius Guildenstern Hamlet Harcourt Hector Helenus Henry Helicanus Holofernes Horatio Hortensio Hortensius Hubert Hugh Humphrey Iachimo Iago Jack Jacques James Jamy John Julius Junius Laertes Lafeu Lartius Launce Launcelot Laurence Lavache Lear Le Beau Lennox Leonardo Leonato Leonatus Leonine Leontes Lepidus Lewis Ligarius Lodovico Longaville Lorenzo Lucentio Lucilius Lucio Lucius Lucullus Lymoges Lysander Lysimachus Macbeth Macduff Macmorris Maecenas Malcolm Malvolio Mamillius Marcellus Marcius Marcus Mardian Margarelon Mark Marullus Martius Matthew Melun Menas Menecrates Menelaus |
Menenius Menteith Mercade Mercutio Messala Metellus Michael Montague Montano Montjoy Morgan Morton Moth Mutius Nathaniel Nestor Nicholas Nick Nym Oberon Octavius Oliver Orlando Orsino Osric Oswald Othello Owen Pandarus Panthino Paris Parolles Patroclus Pedro Pericles Peter Peto Petruchio Philario Philemon Philip Philo Philostrate Philotus Pinch Pindarus Pisanio Pistol Poins Polixenes Polonius Polydore Pompeius Pompey Popilius Priam Proculeius Prospero Proteus Provost Publius Quintus Ralph Rambures Reignier Reynaldo Richard Robert Robin Roderigo Roger Romeo Rosencrantz Ross Salanio Salerio Sampson |
Sararino Saturninus Saunder Scarus Scroop Sebastian Seleucus Sempronius Servilius Sextus Seyton Shallow Shylock Sicinius Silence Silius Silvius Simon Simonides Siward Smith Snare Snout Snug Solinus Speed Stephano Stratus Taurus Thaliard Thersites Theseus Thomas Thurio Thyreus Timon Titinius Titus Toby Tranio Travers Trebonius Tressel Trinculo Troilus Touchstone Tubal Tullus Tybalt Ulysses Valentine Varrius Varro Vaux Velutus Ventidius Verges Vernon Vincentio Voltimand Volumnius Walter Warwick William Adriana Aemilia Alice Andromache Anne Audrey Beatrice Bianca Blanch Bona
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Calpurnia Cassandra Celia Ceres Charmian Cleopatra Constance Cordelia Cressida Desdemona Diana Dionyza Doll Dorcas Eleanor Elizabeth Emilia Francisca Gertrude Goneril Hecate Helen Helena Hermia Hermione Hero Hippolyta Imogen Iras Iris Isabel Isabella Jaquenetta Jessica Joan Juno Julia Juliet Katharina Katharine Lavinia Luce Lucetta Luciana Lychorida Margaret Maria Mariana Marina Miranda Mopsa Nerissa Octavia Olivia Ophelia Patience Paulina Perdita Phebe Phrynia Portia Regan Rosalind Rosaline Silvia Tamora Thaisa Timandra Titania Ursula Valeria Viola Violenta Virgilia Volumnia |
Latin names i.e. Mark Anthony, Octavius Cæsar and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus are listed as seperate names.