Comments for HAMLET:

There is a theory that Hamlet is actually Telemah, if you put out one e and spell it backwards.

-- eeevil_cookie  2/22/2005

Despite the enduring image of a snivelling, incompetent prince, I think this name is darling and humble.

-- Arrows  11/22/2005

Sniveling and incompetent? Hamlet was a passionate man determined to avenge his father's foul and most unnatural murder, as in the best it is, but this murder most foul. Hamlet's uncle, King Claudius, stole upon his own brother in his secure hour in which he was wont to sleep in his orchard with juice of accursed hebona in a vial and in the porches of his ears did pour the leperous distilment; thus was he sleeping, by a brother's hand, of life, of crown, of queen at once dispatched. Thus I say again, murder most foul, and though I don't agree with what Hamlet did, he was certainly not a "sniveling and incompetent prince" but a masterful man who would avenge his father's death.

-- Arowen Half-Elven  1/1/2006

Shakespeare's only son was called Hamnet (which also has an entry on BtN), but a biography I read recently speculated that the name would have been pronounced "Hamlet" in Elizabethan times. So this name was clearly very emotionally charged for Shakespeare, considering that the son died in infancy -- and this was before he began to pen the play.

-- H Gravy  7/8/2006

Shakespeare's son Hamnet died at age 11, by which time Shakespeare had penned the play 'Hamlet'.

-- Anonymous User  10/31/2006

Hamnet Shakespeare actually died in 1596, and the play was written AFTER this, circa 1601.

-- Anonymous User  7/9/2007

Hamlet was based on the Danish saga of Amleth, written down in the 12th century by Saxo Grammaticus. Amleth means "fool, foolish, dull".

-- Laurea  1/11/2007

I love the name Hamlet, the play, and the prince. The book Ophelia by Lisa Klein, which is the story of Shakespeare's told from Ophelia's point of view, made me fall in love with this name. I think it is a strong name, and I love its deep Shakespearean roots.

-- Elira  8/20/2008

As obsessed with "Hamlet" as I am, I may well have children some day named Hamlet and Ophelia - if not as their first names, then definitely as middle names!

-- Sophannagh  11/2/2008

I don't think Hamlet is a very good name for a person. It just sounds strange as something to regularly call someone. And if you said, "Hi, my name is Hamlet", you might eventually run into someone who would say, "To be or not to be, that is the question!" (or something weird like that). My mother and I think that Hamlet is a cute name for a hamster, however.

-- Pippin  3/9/2009

A hamlet is also a little village or group of houses.

-- Anonymous User  8/19/2009

Key: Meaning/History Usage Pronunciation Famous Bearer Personal Impression Other

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