The name, House of Dolphins, pays homage to the first owner of this home, the Dutch grammarian Spieghel, author of a text on dolphins. The building is also known as the House of the Captain of the Night Watch, in honour of another of its occupiers, who was immortalised by Rembrandt in 1642. It was built, with its stepped double gable, in 1605 by Hendrick de Keyser, architect of the Munttoren and the Zuiderkerk.