The History of the Signature

Before literacy was universal

For most of history, the majority of people couldn't read or write, so a "signature" often wasn't a name at all — it was a mark, a symbol, or a personal seal pressed into wax. Wax seals, often bearing a family crest or personal emblem, served the same legal function a signature does today: proof that a specific person authorized a document.

The rise of the handwritten signature

As literacy spread, particularly from the Renaissance onward, writing one's own name became the standard way to authenticate a document. Signatures gradually became more stylized and personal — flourishes, loops, and unique letterforms served as a kind of built-in security feature, making a signature harder to forge convincingly.

The 20th century: signatures everywhere

By the mid-20th century, signatures were required for everything from bank checks to employment contracts to library cards. Businesses built entire workflows around wet-ink signing, often requiring in-person visits or mailed paperwork.

The digital shift

The 2000s brought laws like the U.S. ESIGN Act and, later, the EU's eIDAS regulation, giving electronic signatures the same legal standing as handwritten ones for most everyday documents. Today, a signature might be typed, drawn on a touchscreen, or clicked through a checkbox — a long way from a wax seal, but serving exactly the same purpose: proof of intent. See our full breakdown in what is an electronic signature?