The name "Hamlet" comes from ''Amleth,'' simply by moving the last letter of "Amleth" to the front. The character name "Hamlet" apparently predates Shakespeare's play as we now have it, since a Hamlet play character is mentioned in a surviving writing from 1589. | The name "Hamlet" comes from ''Amleth,'' simply by moving the last letter of "Amleth" to the front. The character name "Hamlet" apparently predates Shakespeare's play as we now have it, since a Hamlet play character is mentioned in a surviving writing from 1589. |