Shakespeare's family

How it begins

The origin of the name of "Shakespeare" is hidden in the mists of antiquity. Writers in Notes and Queries have formed it from Sigisbert, or from Jacques Pierre,[1] or from "Haste-vibrans." Whatever it was at its initiation, it may safely be held to have been an intentionally significant appellation in later years. That it referred to feats of arms may be argued from analogy. Italian heraldry[2] illustrates a name with an exactly similar meaning and use in the Italian language, that of Crollalanza. English authors use it as an example of their theories.