Were these signatures made by the same woman?

[erc19]

My g-g-grandmother was born to a single mother in 1886, and adopted out not long after her birth. The birth mother was a domestic servant; no father was recorded. As there were quite a few women with the same name as the mother in the 1880s/90s, I ordered the original birth certificate to see her signature, and compare it to the woman I think is most likely to be the mother. The woman in question was a domestic servant in the 1880s and 1890s who lived about 30 miles south of where my g-g-grandmother was born; she married in 1899, and her signature is below.

Any thoughts on the similarities/differences? The big one, of course, is the inclusion of a middle name on the 1899 marriage, which isn't present on the birth certificate. I've researched this woman's family extensively, however, and she was neither born nor baptised with a middle name, but seems to have adopted it in later life. (I can relate: I wasn't born with a middle name but adopted one later on as I was the only one in school without one!  )

[PaulineJ]

Different hands. Similar, hi the final y is very different

[Karen McDonald]

Tricky one.

As Pauline says, the final "y" is very different. However, a lot of the other letters are extremely similar. In ways which make me think it is the same hand. (The "h", for example, is very angular.)

[matthewj64]

Same hand. The space after E in Ellen, very similar letter shapes. The tail of the y is different, but the top of it is the same. 13 years between, so some changes expected.

M

[Lily M]

The letters are so similar.  I’d say the same woman. If she had been given the name Rebecca much earlier, she would probably have learnt how to spell it correctly.

[brooksburns]

Different.  I think the similarities can be accounted for by being from the same general handwriting standard, you can see they were aiming for the same shapes, especially clear in the E.  However, the actual execution is different, such as the entering stroke not crossing the lower-case l and upper-case C.  I could be persuaded they were the same person in different context (e.g. how neat they were trying to be) and 13 years apart, but 13 years may not be very long if it's a mature person.

[iluleah]

I would say same person
https://www.thepencompany.com/blog/handwriting/what-are-the-12-characteristics-of-handwriting/

[erc19]

Thanks all, really appreciate it I admit I used to go back and forth on this one - but at least I have two signatures to compare, so can't complain too much! I can't seem to quote at the moment so I'll try to summarise and respond to some interesting points others have made:

-If indeed I have the right Ellen, she was born in 1863, so would have been around 23 when she made the first signature, and about 36 in 1899. Which could explain the handwriting variations, e.g. the difference in 'y'. Potentially.

-Thinking about the context in which the two signatures were made: I don't know if I'm reading too much into it (I probably am), but the first signature seems almost rushed. I haven't included the rest of the image, but her handwriting is noticeably more askew and thicker than the Registrar's, as if she were writing it in a hurry and at an angle, just wanting to get it over with. I can't imagine an unwed domestic servant registering her illegitimate child's birth was a pleasant thing to do in the 1880s.

-Good point re. the spelling of the name Rebecca. I've looked into Ellen's family and there are a lot of Rebeccas in her maternal line, so maybe she decided to adopt it to honour a relation? Or, like me, she felt left out and just wanted a middle name

-A bit of background on the Ellen I believe to be my g-g-grandmother's mother: she was a domestic servant on the 1881 census living with her parents, but had moved to Dorset by 1891, still as a domestic servant. She had an illegitimate daughter in the late 1890s before she married, who later took her stepfather's surname. I have no DNA matches with this family, but the daughter of Ellen's daughter took a DNA test a while back, and my sibling shares 40cM with her. If we are related via Ellen then she would be a 1/2 1C3R, so definitely possible on the DNA Painter tool.

Personally, I'm of the opinion that it's the same person - as matthewj64 said, the distance between the 'E' and the remaining letters in 'Ellen' is present in both signatures. I can also see similarities between other letters (e.g. the number of loops in the capital 'C', which is made less obvious in the first signature due to the ink of the pen, and the spacing and shape of the lowercase 'n'). But it's always a good idea to ask others for their opinions! A number of people in my own family are unsure if it's the same hand.

[Treetotal]

I would say same person, the Y is written on the line and maybe that is why it's different.
Carol