Given name & surname
Shakespeare
“to brandish a weapon”
Shakespeare is a surname from Middle English.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Shakespeare goes back to a word meaning “to brandish a weapon.”
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Shakespeare’s family of names
In French usage, Shakespeare as a surname has a conventional equivalent in the Polish form Szekspir. In French usage, Shakespeare as a surname has a conventional equivalent in Sèkspir. In French usage, Shakespeare as a surname has a conventional equivalent in the Esperanto form Ŝekspiro.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Shakespeare has relatives in 8 languages. Lines run from its Middle English roots to each of them.
8 related names in 8 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 9
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- Shakespearequivalent
- Шекспирborrowing · Russian, Macedonian
- Sếch-xpiaborrowing · Vietnamese
- SzekspirPolish
- ΣαίξπηρGreek
- ŜekspiroEsperanto
- Sèkspirrcf
- 莎翁Chinese
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See also 2
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
Similar names
If you love Shakespeare, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Pierce
“as solid and strong as a rock”
96% boys · 4% girls
Cade
“a precocious young woman” · “one who is round”
>99% boys
Шекспір
Шекспір (Šekspír) is a surname from English. It is used in Ukrainian.
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Clark
“a cleric; a clerk”
98% boys · 2% girls
Holden
“one who is willing and eager” · “from the hollow in the valley”
99% boys · 1% girls
Shitspeare
Shitspeare is a given name.
—
Sherlea
“from the bright clearing”
—
Aleassa
“noble” · “kind”
—