Are Names Important?
We are all born nameless. Just a group of newborns with not much to identify us as an individual with character.
That is until we are given a name.
It’s a special moment in the parents’ lives when they give their child a name. It defines them and gives them a uniqueness that they will carry on for the rest of their lives (unless they change it to another name- but the uniqueness will always last).
Actors have stage names which become their identity/calling card in their work. Article after article pops up about the weird names that celebrities give their kids (such as Musk and Grimes; the Kardashians and many more).
Names become important cause they help create our identity. They form a part of our personality. But do you want to know just how immensely important names were back in ancient times?
The Ancient Egyptians held great regard for names and believed they held power. Ancient Egyptians assumed that their names created a part of their soul and went to great lengths to give them good meaning and ensure that those names provided them with good luck and fortune.
In fact, Egyptians did not just have 1 name, they had 2.
The Pharaohs even had a royal titulary system of mainly 5 names and multiple epithets which soon increased to at least 50 different names (I checked and counted this myself!)
So it's pretty clear that the Egyptians cared a lot about their names. But why did they put so much effort into their names?
First, we need to take a quick 101 in the different parts of the Egyptian soul. The soul consists of many different aspects-:
- Sah (spiritual body)
- Ka (life force)
- Ba (personality/ astral projection)
- Shuyet/Sheut (shadow)
- Akh (immortal self, union of ba and ka after death)
- Ren (secret name)
Of course, there were other aspects such as the physical body (khat), and the heart (ib), but that’s mostly it.
The one we are going to focus on is the last one- ren. The ren was the name that was given to an individual at the moment of their birth. Now this name was kept secret (duh) and the Egyptians used other names/nicknames to avoid using their true name.
The ren was the name that the gods used to identify souls in the afterlife and hence this name was fiercely protected.
So what would have happened if one’s secret name was revealed? Well, the Egyptians had a story for this (as they always do).
The Story of Isis and the Secret Name of Ra
Ra was the sun god and at the time of this story was the king of the gods and was ruling over Egypt. The people were happy and there was peace and harmony in the land and so on.
But there was one individual who was not happy with the order of things. Isis (goddess of magic) was greedy and wanted more power and authority over the land. She also wanted her husband Osiris (god of fertility) to be the just and great ruler of the land.
So Isis followed the god while he was making his daily journey (as the sun). During his transformation to Atum (he becomes a weak old man in the evening), some spit dribbled from his mouth (gross, but hey, he is old) and fell on the earth.
Isis transformed the spit and earth to form a snake. While Ra was making his rounds again, the snake bit him.
He was in terrible pain and could not heal himself.
He called out to his children and begged the gods to find a way to cure him. This was Isis’ moment to shine.
Isis was the goddess of healing and magic and with a pompous air, stepped forward and begged her father to tell her what happened. After hearing his lamentations, she starts to chant spells that “should” heal the king.
No matter how much she tried, she just couldn’t stop the pain and remove the poison. She was helpless in the matter.
(She is also quite the actor, if there is a position to be the god of theatre, she should add that to her repertoire)
As a last resort, she begs her king to tell her secret name so that she can save him from his agony. Ra, despite his condition, stood his ground and did not reveal it. Instead, he rambles on about his various titles and names (there are quite a few of those).
Isis admonished him and told him to just tell her. Ra, with a defeated sigh, gives in and whispers his secret name to her. In doing so, Isis draws the poison out of Ra’s body but now has power and control over Ra. After this incident, Ra gives up his throne knowing that Isis and her family will forever have control over him and retreats to the heavens.
Isis succeeds in her mission for greater power and authority and for her and her family (Osiris and Horus).
For the Egyptians, secret names were the key to their essence. When Isis was given the knowledge of Ra’s secret name she gained access to the very core of Ra’s life. This action cost Ra his authority which is why he acknowledged the superiority that Isis had over him.
Names were an important aspect of their soul and the Egyptians protected their secret names fiercely.
All in all, I think the story of Isis and Ra just showcases the importance and power of names. They show that our name isn’t just a couple of letters used to identify us, but a deep connection to the very core of our being.
When I was younger, I thought of other names that I could have had, but none of them were as fitting as the one I have now. The name that was given to me at birth was perfect and completes me as a person.
Our names are important. They show others the type of person we are and our name is what keeps our memories alive for posterity.
