“In Nineteenth Century America it was common to name a foundling Shakespeare.”
As a first name or a last name? And...why?
My dad worked for child welfare in NYC and once had the honor of naming a baby who was found on the street. The baby was a boy and he name him Matthew with the last name being the street on which he was found, which was a totally fine last name, the street was actually named for a person (I just don’t want to say the whole name here).
He said he chose Matthew because it means “child of God”.
It was a good name my dad gave him, I hope the kid turned out OK.
Last name. Many people named Shakespeare today are the descendants of foundlings. I suppose Shakespeare imparted some measure of dignity?