The Signature

It is impossible to make a full character analysis on a signature alone, because it represents and reveals just one side of a person - the face we show the world. If we’re lucky it might also reveal a name! In graphology it is important not to view the signature in isolation but as part of the whole script. Any congruence or lack of it can reveal as much as the signature itself.

Historically, and throughout the world, symbols and pictures were and still are used as a method of communication. Until a few hundred years ago in Great Britain and Ireland it wasn’t common for individuals to be able to sign their names and anyone who has done some genealogical research will have seen the cross-marks in parish registers.

As writing became more widely used signatures became another form of symbolic representation, replacing drawings and marks. Universally, a signature is acknowledged on commercial and financial documents as a legal representation of who we are.

A signature is stylised, highly individualised and perfected to project and represent to others how we would like to be perceived. People who sign their names often sometimes develop two styles, a reduced official one and a more individual one. Illegibility can have several causes: a desire for self-protection, complete disregard for others or ill health, such as Alzheimer’s.

Choosing a signature is an evolutionary process but once we have settled on something we like usually it remains constant for the rest of our lives. However, major life changes can affect and alter signatures, for example, Napoleon’s and Hitler’s. Their decline in power can be witnessed through their signatures.

Sometimes a writer may introduce symbolic images into the signatures deliberately.  Bill Odie draws birds, while Liberace drew a piano. Other symbols may be introduced unconsciously, like a smiley face, ball, heart or even dollar and pound sign, especially if money is important to the individual.

Newly married women assuming their husband’s name often find difficulty writing their signature. Loss of identity or unfamiliarity may lead her write the surname smaller than her given name. First names or initials relate to the writer’s personal interests and feelings, while the surname represents the social element, including family relations. It can take many months, even years before she feels comfortable with her new name. 

While a signature might contribute to understanding more about the personality of the writer, where it is placed in relation to the whole text, its size, slant, depth and any flourishes or underscores all reveal valuable information.