Shakespeare’s characters

The Bard wrote works separated into Histories, Comedies, and Tragedies. While some of the characters were historical figures and therefore not named by Shakespeare, others were fictional with names chosen or created by Will. I doubt whether he really created as many as 1,700 words – he only used 20,000 different words in all his works, it is more likely these words are largely the first time they are recorded in writing. But why did he opt for those fictional names? Will etymology provide an answer?

Malvolio from Twelfth Night, a figure I particularly loathe as I was forced to portray this pillock when at school, he has a name from Italian and meaning ‘ill will’ – and from what I recall of the experience, a pretty accurate description.

Romeo is a title character whose name either means ‘Roman’ or ‘pilgrim to Rome’ – the latter is a better bet as the play is set in Verona.

Othello is the eponymous character whom Shakespeare named, probably from the Italian Otello or the Hebrew name Otiel meaning ‘my God is He’. (insert punctuation and see how those four words change in meaning)

Desdemona is from the Greek dysdaimon meaning either ‘misery’ or ‘ill-fated’.

Mercutio is derived from the Latin mercurialis meaning ‘of Mercury’.

Banquo is of Scottish Gaelic origin from ban and means ‘white’ or perhaps ‘fair’.

Titania is from the Titans of Greek mythology, specifically the daughters of those Titans.

Polonius is probably from the Latin word for Poland, Shakespeare may have got the idea from a Latin book on statesmanship by a Polish author.

Laertes is from Greek mythology, the father of Odysseus.

Caliban is believed to be derived from ‘cannibal’, an appropriate name for the character’s savagery.

Hermia is of Greek origin, it means ‘messenger’ as does the Greek Hermes.

Benvolio comes from the Italian benevolo meaning ‘goodwill’, which describes Romeo’s cousin the play rather well.

Capulet is derived from capuleti ‘little chief’.

Fortinbras is of Norman French derivation meaning ‘strong in the arm’.

Yorick, a variation on the Danish Jorck, is itself a variation of George.

Portia is from the Latin porcus meaning ‘pig’, not a particularly appropriate description of the character.

Petruchio is from the Italian name Pietro, itself from the Greek Peter meaning ‘stone’ or ‘rock’.

Perdita is from the Latin perditus meaning ‘lost, abandoned’ and an appropriate name for Shakespeare’s character.

Other names may be associated with Shakespeare, but they pre-date the Bard. These include Ophelia, Prospero, Iago, Shylock, Titania.