"What's in a name?" That very question, asked thousands of times over by expectant parents poring over baby name books, was actually penned by a very prophetic playwright. And although William Shakespeare went on to write in Romeo and Juliet that names are really quite meaningless (for, "that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet"), he certainly had a way for picking them.
In more than 30 plays, he's invented and chosen monikers that are, to this day, beautiful, unique, and instant classics. If you find yourself inspired by the Bard's work, why not consult it when naming your little one? Sure, the names Othello or Hamlet, title characters in two of Shakespeare's eponymous tragedies, might not be the most popular of choices, but we promise that each one has a prominent place in literary history.