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NAMES IN ANCIENT EGYPT
golden cylinder with the name of the pharoah Djedkare Isesi
In ancient times people generally had only one name, which was given at birth. People with the same name were often differentiated from one another by identifying them as the son of someone (i.e. James, the son of Zeledee in the Bible) or linking them to their birthplace (i.e. Paul of Tarsus, also from the Bible).
Gayle Gibson, an Egyptologist at the Royal Ontario Museum, told Smithsonian magazine: “The Egyptians didn’t want to be forgotten. They needed to be remembered. They wanted us to say their names, because to say the name of the dead is to make them live again.” [Source: Matthew Shaer, Smithsonian Magazine, December 2014]
One ancient hieroglyphic text reads: “Man perishes; his corpse turns to dust; all his relatives pass away. But writings make him remembered in the mouth of the reader. A book is more effective than a well-built house or a tomb-chapel in the west, better than an established villa or a stela in the temple!” [Source: Toby Wilkinson, an Egyptologist at the University of Cambridge. From the book, called “Writings From Ancient Egypt“, Nathaniel Scharping, Discover, September 22, 2016]
Günter Vittmann of the University of Würzburg wrote: “For the ancient Egyptians, name and essence were inseparably interconnected. The world was created by pronouncing the name of everything that came into existence and, in magical practice, knowing the “true” name of supranatural and transcendent beings helped one to gain power over them. Thus, the name (rn) was considered a vital constituent of one’s personality and was, to a certain extent, interchangeable with the concept of the ka (kA), the latter term sometimes being used as a synonym for rn. [Source: Günter Vittmann, University of Würzburg, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology 2013, escholarship.org ]
Personal Names in Ancient Egypt
More simple names indicate briefly the bodily or intellectual qualities of the bearer. Thus the names of some distinguished men of the Old Kingdom are Little, Young, or Content, while one lady is called simply the Beautiful. Under the Middle Kingdom we meet with men named Healthy and Strong, with women called Beauty, Resembling, Sweet, Verdant, or She is healthy; and under the New Kingdom some of the men are named Tall, Beautiful of Face, and the ladies, Strong and Large-headed} Names of animals are not infrequently used: Ichneumon, Silurus, Lion, Wild Hon, Tadpole, Daughter of the crocodile, Horse; and under the New Kingdom we find Tomcat and Kitten? From the vegetable world we have the female name Beautiful sycamore? Names referring to the good reputation of the bearer are found, eg. Praised, Beloved, Loved one, Worthy of thanks. Beautiful is what lie does; these are naturally very numerous amongst the ladies. We not only find, First favorite, Beautiful mistress. Loving one. My mistress is as gold, and This is my queen; but also, with bold exaggeration, Beloved by the two countries, and Ruler of the two countries? [Source: Adolph Erman, “Life in Ancient Egypt”, 1894]
Günter Vittmann of the University of Würzburg wrote: “In ancient Egypt, an individual’s name was of vital importance for defining his identity in society and assuring his survival for posterity. A person might have two or even three names, one of them sometimes being a basilophorous name (a name that incorporates a king’s name)adopted by the individual at a certain stage of life. For foreigners, taking an Egyptian name was frequently a means by which they integrated into Egyptian society. Grave crimes would entail damnatio memoriae, a process by which a person’s identity could essentially be erased by mutilation and obliteration of the name. Certain personal names also hadapotropaic potential, and the names of the sages of the past could even be used in magic. [Source: Günter Vittmann, University of Würzburg, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology 2013, escholarship.org ]
In Egypt, as elsewhere, the personal name of an individual was the most important means of identification, not only in this life, but in the hereafter and in social memory for eternity (for the immortal aspect of the name). Already by the Early Dynastic Period, royal retainers and officials had their names inscribed on their funerary stelae and clay seals. During the Old Kingdom and quite often later, the personal name, supplemented with rank and title(s), was usually considered sufficient for the identification of the living and the dead. By the Middle Kingdom, however, it became widespread to add the individual’s parentage—the names of either father or mother, or both—to present an unequivocal identification. Thus household lists of the Middle Kingdom introduce the (always male) head-of-household in the inverted form “Y’s son X” (the typical manner of filiation, which emerged in the late Old Kingdom and was prevalent during the Middle Kingdom) and mention each member, including children, by name. In the numerous name-lists included in the documents relating to the tomb robberies of the late New Kingdom, persons are identified by name and either their title or father’s name, or both.
“From the Third Intermediate Period onward, there was a heightened concern to display lengthy genealogies sometimes going back far into the past. It is clear that this is more than simple “identification”; rather, it can be understood as a determined effort to legitimize the holding of profitable priestly and official functions within the individual’s own family, “from son to son.” In contrast, when a confidant of the king, such as Petamenophis, the owner of the largest Late Period tomb in Thebes, gives only the name of his mother and, unusually, never that of his father or those of his ancestors, this may indicate that he was an “outsider” who did not descend from a prominent family.”
Multiple Names and New Names in Ancient Egypt
ball bead with name of the female pharoah Hatshepsut
Günter Vittmann of the University of Würzburg wrote: “In addition to the name one received from his parents—perhaps especially from his mother immediately after birth and that often had a close connection with the circumstances of his birth—an individual could acquire other names in different stages of his life. Two different names of a person could alternate when inscribed either on the same object or on various places of a coherent architectural context. A “classic” example is the High Priest of Amun Rm of the late 19th Dynasty, who also called himself Ry. [Source: Günter Vittmann, University of Würzburg, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology 2013, escholarship.org ]
“In the Old Kingdom (2649–2150 B.C.), it was common to have two names: a “major name” (rn aA), which often was an official theophorous or basilophorous name (that is, one that included the name of a deity or king, respectively), and a “minor name” (rn nDs) or “beautiful name,” which occasionally was an abbreviation of the major name and served as a first name
“During the Middle Kingdom, double names still enjoyed much popularity, but the designation “beautiful (or final) name” gradually fell out of use, giving way to the formula “A Ddw n.f B” (“A who is called B”)...“Beautiful names” were reintroduced in the Late Period, most of the evidence (the names of more than 110 individuals) being datable to the 26th Dynasty. However, their use now followed the looser naming patterns of the Middle Kingdom and later, rather than the somewhat rigid double- (and triple-) name system of the Old Kingdom. Unlike most of the “final” names of the Old Kingdom, such names were often basilophorous and formal in character. There are also a few late examples of “major names” from the late 26th and early 27th Dynasties.
Naming at Birth in Ancient Egypt
Numerous names at all times are evolved from family affection, and express, often in touching fashion, the joy of the parents over their child. Beautiful day and Beautiful morning are in remembrance of the joyful day of a boy's birth; the child is My oxvn, or the Only one, the parents love him as Their eyes, and he is Their most beautiful or Their riches. The father says of him, I have wished it, he is Acceptable and Welcome.' The daughter is called Beautiful as her father, and the Rider of her father; at her birth it is said Beauty comes, and at the birth of the son Riches come? Those who are gone live again in the children. The Brothers live, His father lives; and mournfully the widower says to the baby, Replace her. The family now survives, the Mothers are born again in the daughters, and His name lives through them; all hopes are centered on the son, and the father in his mind's eye already sees him as his Protector, the Prince, the Chief, or he thinks of him as succeeding him, and therefore names him, even in his infancy, Chief of the Mercenaries. [Source: Adolph Erman, “Life in Ancient Egypt”, 1894]
Günter Vittmann wrote: The natural setting of many names is the situation immediately associated with birth. Such names usually express relief and happiness, a wish or its fulfillment, a hope or a statement made by the name-giver. Though there are some explicit sources pointing to the role of the mother as name-giver, it is usually impossible to relate a personal name directly to the mother. Theoretically, the “speaker” in names such as “NHt.n.j” (“She whom I desired”) or “anx,f/s” (“May he/she live!”) might be either the father or the mother, although Ranke, as a rule, preferred the latter option. [Source:Günter Vittmann, University of Würzburg, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology 2013, escholarship.org ]
“It is important, however, to make a distinction between the original context of a name, or name-pattern, on the one hand, and the reason for its use in a particular case, on the other hand. A name such as “9d-PtH-jw.f- anx” (“Ptah said, he will live”), for example, evokes the decision of an oracle in which Ptah reassured the anxious parents that the child would survive; in view of the high rate of child mortality in antiquity, this was certainly a very realistic concern. However, this does not mean that every individual named “9d-PtH-jw.f-anx” necessarily owed his name to an oracular decision of Ptah. Similarly, there is no reason to believe that every “Jmn-m-Hb” was born on the day of the festival of Amun, although this is probably the original implication of that name. Still other factors such as papponymy (i.e., naming after the grandfather) would often determine the use of a given name.
Names and Status in Ancient Egyptian Society
Günter Vittmann of the University of Würzburg wrote: “An important function of the name was as a means of integrating the bearer fully into Egyptian society. At the lowest level, foreign servants and slaves often received an additional Egyptian name that often did not differ fundamentally from names held by “genuine” Egyptians. It may be supposed that in everyday life, the new name supplanted the old one, especially when such people were separated from their original social environment. In a juridical papyrus from the New Kingdom it is explicitly reported that an imported Syrian slave girl was given an Egyptian name by her owner after he purchased her from a Syrian merchant. Her new and otherwise unattested name, Gm.n.j-Hr-Jmntt “I found (her) in the West” or “(She) whom I found in the West”, presumably refers to the circumstances of her acquisition, whereas the original name of the girl was of no interest and is therefore not mentioned in the document. [Source: Günter Vittmann, University of Würzburg, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology 2013, escholarship.org ]
“At a higher social level, Egyptianized foreigners would often adopt an Egyptian name to underscore their (partial?) assimilation, as did WAH-jb-Ra-m-Axt in the 26th Dynasty, who was of Greek descent. Such visible examples are somewhat rare; unless there is clear genealogical or iconographical evidence, it is practically impossible to recognize an individual’s ethnic background. This is, however, in keeping with the Egyptian concept that an assimilated foreigner had (more or less) ceased to be a foreigner and was considered an Egyptian.
“In the Ptolemaic and Roman Periods it was not unusual for an individual to have both an Egyptian and a Greek name, the latter in an official Greek socio-cultural context, the former in more traditional Egyptian contexts, such as priestly roles. The Greek name was often a translation, or “interpretatio Graeca,” of the Egyptian name, e.g., PA-bjk “The Falcon” = ‘Ιέραξ because of the equation “ibis” = Thoth = Hermes. An important study on double names in Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt on the basis of Greek papyrology was published by Calderini.”
Name Choice in Ancient Egypt
cartouche of King Tut (Tutankhamun)
Günter Vittmann of the University of Würzburg wrote: “Names were by no means always freely chosen out of personal feeling or desire. Although there were apparently no firm rules for name-giving, it was usual to select names that were already extant in the family in order to stress the unity of the line. For example, in the family of Ppj- anx the Middle, the owner of an Old Kingdom tomb in Meir (Middle Egypt), the names Ppj-anx and Nj-anx-Ppj were endemic. Papponymy (i.e., naming after the grandfather), though especially in vogue in the Late Period, was already well attested in the Old Kingdom. The genealogical pattern “A, son of B, son of A2” (and not rarely with “son of B2” following as well) is ubiquitous, which sometimes makes the identification of the members of a family problematic. Often the cultic-religious background of a family was also decisive for the choice of name. Thus, it is natural that names with the elements Amun, Mut, Khons, or Montu abound in the Theban area. [Source: Günter Vittmann, University of Würzburg, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology 2013, escholarship.org ]
“Outside such contexts, it is extremely difficult to interpret the reasons governing the choice of a particular name. On her funerary stela, Taimhotep, a noble lady of Ptolemaic Memphis, tells the reader that her son Imhotep was born on the festival of his divinized name-sake, who had granted her (the mother), by oracle, the highly desired birth of a son, who was also called Petubastis.
“A crucial aspect of the personal name was its function as a pledge for eternal life not only in the next world (three short spells of the Coffin Texts, nos. 410 - 412, and Chapter 25 of the Book of the Dead are all concerned with preventing a man from forgetting his name) but also in this one, in the memory of later generations. As an Egyptian proverb put it, “A man lives when his name is mentioned”. Inscriptions in the accessible parts of tombs destined for the offering cult and on temple statues invited people to keep the memory of the deceased and his good reputation alive. In several places in the entrance to his tomb at Tuna el- Gebel, Petosiris exhorts the visitors to comply with this desire: “O every prophet, every wab-priest, every scribe, every scholar who will enter this necropolis and see this tomb, may you mention my good name and say, ‘An invocation offering consisting of bread, beer, oxen, geese and all good things for the ka of the lord of this tomb!’. Who(ever) comes and goes in order to lay down offerings in this necropolis, all those who enter the temple of the great bas in order to do offerings in it at its (right) time, may you mention my good name next to these gods and bow for me your arms with an ‘offering which the king gives’ (i.e., a funerary offering) because I am a man for whom one should act.”.
“In this context, an individual’s integration into society through his adherence to the principles of maat was considered of vital importance. Demonstrating your noble character and thus convincing others that you deserve both the necessary mortuary offerings and a good standing in the memory of survivors was the principal aim of so-called autobiographical inscriptions.
Personal Name Structure in Ancient Egypt
Günter Vittmann of the University of Würzburg wrote: “The diversity and complexity of ancient Egyptian personal names points to a range of available patterns and options for name-giving. Alongside personal names that make direct reference tothe name-bearer and his or her family, there are numerous names that refer to a god, the ruling(or an earlier) king, or some venerated individual, with or without simultaneous reference to the name-bearer or his family. An individual could be designated, for example, as one beloved ,given, or protected by a god or king, but a name could equally contain an objective statement about god or king. [Source: Günter Vittmann, University of Würzburg, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology 2013, escholarship.org ]
“Ancient Egyptian personal names were manifold both in structure and in meaning. From a purely formal point of view, most Egyptian personal names may be assigned to one of the following three basic groups, such as Jbj “Ibi”; 1r “Horus”; PA-whr “The dog”; PA-MDAy “The Medja-man”; NHsj, PA- NHsj “The Nubian”.
There were“compound names not constituting a complete sentence, e.g., PA-ntj-n(.j) “He who belongs to me”; 3st-wrt “Great Isis,” “Isis the great”; 8dw-4bk, later PA-dj-4bk “Given by Sobek,” “He whom Sobek has given”. “ There were also “names constituting a complete sentence, e.g., Nj-anx(.j?)-4xmt “(My?) life belongs to Sakhmet” ; Nb(.j)-pw-4-n-wsrt “Senusret is my lord”; Jmn-m-HAt “Amun is in front”; 2Aa.w-s- n-3st “They laid him/her before Isis”; Ns-2nsw “He/She belongs to Khons”.”
Types of Names in Ancient Egypt
official cylinder seal of Pepi II
Günter Vittmann of the University of Würzburg wrote: “Extremely common in all periods of Egyptian history were “theophorous” names, expressing a relationship between the name- bearer, or his parents, and a deity (or deities). Theophorous name-patterns varied over time, the most prevalent being: The individual as “belonging” to god X: Nj-X (Old Kingdom), e.g., Nj-BAstt “Who belongs to Bastet”; Nj-PtH “Who belongs to Ptah”; PA-n/Pa-X, 6A-nt/Ta-X “He/She of X”, e.g., PA-n-Jmn/Pa-Jmn “He of Amun”; 6A-nt-Jmn /Ta-Jmn “She of Amun”; and Nj-sw/sj-X = Ns-X “He/She belongs to X”, e.g., Ns- 2nsw “He/She belongs to Khons”. One could also “belong” to a holy emblem, such as the sacred staff: a common Late Period name was Ns-pA-mdw/Ns-pA-mtr “He/She belongs to the (holy) staff”. [Source: Günter Vittmann, University of Würzburg, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology 2013, escholarship.org ]Examples of (endophorous) names lacking any mention of divinities or kings include NHt.n.j “She whom I desired”; Jw.f-aA/Jw.f-aw “He will attain old age”; Jw.f/s-r/Ø-anx “He/she lives,” “He/she will live/survive”; anx.f/s “May he/she live!” equivalent to older 1A- anx.f/s; and Rn(.j)-snb “My name is healthy”(a typical Middle Kingdom name). In names of the Old and Middle Kingdoms, the concept of the ka plays a vital role, e.g., WHm- kA(.j) “Who repeats my ka” (i.e., “My double”; I 83,23 with a slightly different reading), and Mrrw-kA(.j) “Whom my ka loves”.
“Sometimes names evoked an individual’s physical features, e.g., FnDj “He with the nose,” “Nosy”, Nxt “Strong”, and Nfr/Nfrt “Beautiful; Perfect”, but it is also possible that the first of these three examples, with its variants, is an epithet of Thoth used as a personal name that should be translated as “He/She with the beak.”
“Names based on titles may involve administrative, military, and priestly functions, as well as those of other professions, e.g., PA-jmj-rA-Snwt “The Overseer of the Granary”; PA-jmj-rA-mSa, conventionally translated as “The General”; PA-Hrj-pDt “The Overseer of the Archers,” “The Troop- commander”; PA-jt-nTr “The God’s Father”; PA- Hm-nTr “The Prophet”; and PA-jn-mw “The Water-carrier”. There are also more complex formations that give the impression of being a kind of appellative rather than a true personal name, e.g., PA-Hm-nTr-2.nw “The Second Prophet,” or PA-Hm-nTr-MAat “The Prophet of Maat”.
“Several animal names are known, especially from the Old and Middle Kingdoms, that might not be expected to be chosen for people, e.g., Pnw “Mouse” and 1fnr “Tadpole”, also found in the Old Testament in the form 1opnî, 1Dr, and similarly “Hyena. By the Late Period, but perhaps already earlier, animal names had acquired a religious dimension, e.g., PA-bjk “The falcon”; the two phonetically similar names PA- mAj “The lion” and PA- mjw“The cat”; PA-msH “The crocodile”; PA-Hf “The snake”; and 6A-Hf-SpSt “The sacred snake”. For certain names such as PA- orr “The frog”, an animal associated with regeneration, or 1nvs “Lizard”; 6A-Hfllj “The lizard”, this background is less evident but still possible, whereas for Demotic alal, PA-alal, 6A- alal “The shrew-mouse”, it may be considered definite. “Plant names were not uncommon in the Old and Middle Kingdom, e.g., 4SSn “Lotus flower”, the ultimate origin of “Susan” and similar formations in European languages, and Jsr “Tamarisk”. These are rather rare by the Late Period, but names such as GAwt- sSn “Lotus bundle”; 1mDrv “Asphodel”; and 6A-wrv, 6A-wrv-mn “The Rose,” “The Rose of Min” are attested. For the case of Nhj-wrt “Great sycamore,” see below under Theophorus Names.”
Names Derived from Religion and the Gods in Ancient Egypt
Religion, as a matter of course, played a great part in this affair of name-giving — men liked to be named after that god whom their family chiefly served; women desired above all to be called after Hathor, the goddess of love. Some of these religious names are in praise of the gods; such as the following, which were favorite names under the Old Kingdom: Sokar shines with spirit, Ptah acts rightly, Ra is beautiful, Beautiful is the countenance of Ptah, Ra is content, God is rich. [Source: Adolph Erman, “Life in Ancient Egypt”, 1894]
Names may also express thankfulness or trust in the gods, e.g. the old names of Ptah causes me to live, Anmn is her riches, Belonging to Ptah, Servant of Ra and the curious one of Brother of Anum. Names of the latter kind are especially numerous in the time of the Middle Kingdom, such as Son of Mont, daughter of Hathor, Comrade of Sobek, Of Amun. The gift of Amun; other favorite names give glory to the gods, such as Amun first, Sobek first, or Hathor first
During the religious revival, under the New Kingdom, there was, of course, a superabundance of religious names; many follow the older forms, such as Given by the bark of Osiris, or Amun is content. Of Seth, Of Horus; others are disposed in new forms as, Born of the Moon, Ra gave him birth, Amun in the desert, Amun at the feast, Horus in the bark, Mut in the bark? These new names have rather a peculiar, we might almost say a theological character; they express religious learning rather than simple piety, for instance, the knowledge as to which gods accompany the sun-god in his bark in the heavens. From the time of the Middle Kingdom every one bears the name or the title of a god, the men are called Horus, Khons, or Lord of the gods, women, or Lady of Denderah?
Royal Names in Ancient Egypt
The royal names and titles always appeared to the Egyptians as a matter of the highest importance. The first title consisted of the name borne by the king as a prince. This was the only one used by the people or in history; it was too sacred to be written as an ordinary word, and was therefore enclosed in an oval ring in order to separate it from other secular words. Before it stood the title “King of Upper Egypt and King of Lower Egypt. [Source: Adolph Erman, “Life in Ancient Egypt”, 1894]
cartouche of Thutmosis III on a chalice
The unification of Upper Egypt (southern Egypt) and the Lower Egypt (northern Egypt) was of great importance in the history of Egypt. The official title of the Pharaoh was always the “King of Upper Egypt and the King of Lower Egypt. " It was the same with the titles of his servants; originally they were the superintendents of the two houses of silver, or of the two storehouses, for each kingdom had its own granary and its own treasury.
During the Old Kingdom the idea arose that it was not suitable that the king, who on ascending the throne became a demigod, should retain the same common name he had borne as a prince. As many ordinary people were called Pepi, it did not befit the good god to bear this vulgar name; therefore at his accession a new name was given him for official use, which naturally had some pious signification. Pepi became "the beloved of Ra"; 'Ess'e, when king, was called, "the image of Ra stands firm"; and Ment'uhotep is called “Ra, the lord of the two countries. " We see that all these official names contain the name of Ra the Sun-god, the symbol of royalty. Nevertheless, the king did not give up the family name he had borne as prince, for though not used for official purposes, it yet played an important part in the king's titles.
See Separate Article: ROYAL NAMES IN ANCIENT EGYPT africame.factsanddetails.com
Honorifics, Distinguishing Like-Named Persons and Names Based on Others
Günter Vittmann of the University of Würzburg wrote: “In addition to theophorous and basilophorous personal names, there are also names based or other of special importance to the name- bearer. It is often impossible to determine the kind of relationship between the “borrower” and the “lender.” In some instances it is probable that the use of a personal name as a part of a more complex name points to the veneration of a deceased and deified individual. For example, this seems to be the case with names composed with 6tj in early New Kingdom Thebes, such as 6tj-an “Tety is beautiful,” 6tj-anx “Tety is alive,” and simply 6tj “Tety”. In other instances, a parent of the name-bearer might be involved, as in MHw-m-HAt “Mehu is in front” and Nb(j)-pw-MHw “Mehu is my lord” (two sons of the vizier Mehu), or, alternatively, a superior of the name-bearer. An instructive example of the latter from the 20th Dynasty is the name Ra-ms-s(w)-nxt-mn “Ramessenakht is enduring.” This hitherto unattested name of a temple carpenter from Karnak is clearly based on the name of his superior, the High Priest of Amun Ra-ms-s(w)-nxt, which in turn is a basilophorous name as described above. [Source: Günter Vittmann, University of Würzburg, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology 2013, escholarship.org ]
“An important phenomenon is “honorific transposition”. Theophorous or basilophorous elements would frequently be written at the beginning of the name, even if pronounced in the syntactically appropriate place. As a consequence, there are ambiguous examples: A name written PtH + Htp might well be understood as 1tp-PtH. The problem is complicated by the fact that both types, in the concrete case Htp - divinity/divinity - Htp, were in use as we know from Greek renderings, e.g., Jmn-Htp).
“When father and son (or elder brother and younger brother, and the like) had the same name, ambiguities would often be avoided by additions such as wr, later pA aA, “senior,” or nDs, later nxn, and (especially in the Late Period) pA xm “junior.” If several like-named individuals had to be distinguished, Hrj-jb “the middle one” could be added. Apparently, these distinguishing additions were sometimes treated by the Egyptians themselves as integral constituents of the name, as we may infer from Greek renderings.”
Confusion Over the Use of Same Names in Ancient Egypt
The Egyptians often went as far as to give brothers or sisters the same name. Thus S'abu, high priest of Memphis under the Old Kingdom, named his second son S'abu, but contented himself with giving to the four others the name of Ptahshepses. His eldest son and successor followed his example, for he called at least two of his sons Ptahshepses, and a third S'abu. Under the Middle Kingdom also we meet with a family in which three daughters were called Nebet-sochet-ent-Ra, and there are many similar cases.' [Source: Adolph Erman, “Life in Ancient Egypt”, 1894]
In order to distinguish those of the .same name from each other, nicknames or pet names were doubtless provided for daily life; the inscriptions with their stiff official style rarely inform us what these were. Under the Old Kingdom the son was often distinguished from his father of the same name by the addition of the IJtthy' In time double names were formed from these nicknames, and the great lords and ladies of the pyramid age often bear a “little name “as well as a “great “or “beautiful name. The first is the child's name commonly used, as Het'es; the second is a high-sounding name with some good signification, as Sokar shines with spirit. A certain lady Tepes has, for instance, the additional great name of Beautiful is the peace of Hathor, the lady Beb'e Goldeit peace, and a certain Heba Beautiful leader. A lady of the harem is called Servant of Ra as well as Amiable. In later times also we often meet with double names, such as Kay Senusret, Senusret Senebsenebneb, and a nurse Senebtese, who bears the additional name of My heaven endures?
Sometimes in order to give an individuality to a name in common use, it was somewhat changed. Thus with the children of the abovementioned high priest S'abu and Ptahshepses, the youngest son was called by the pet name Ptahshep instead of Ptahshepses. With adults also we find similar familiar abbreviations of long names. Pepi-ded'e, Pepi endures is abbreviated to Ded'e, endures. Amendadat and Sebekdadau'e, the gift of Anion and Sobek B.C.stozus me often become Dadat and Dadau'e, Gift and Besto me; Nebet-sochet-ent-Re', Mistress of the Fields of Ra is curtailed to Nebet, Mistiness, etc. Numerous senseless pet names, which have come down to us from the time of the Old Kingdom, are probably abbreviations of much older names; such are: 'Es'e, Ses'e, 'Ess'e, 'Et'e, Tet'e, 'Ett'e, 'Ep'e, Pep'e, 'Epp'e, 'Eff'e, Kek'e, Beb'e, T'et'e (they were probably pronounced Atoti, Apopi," etc.) With other nations a name as lisped by a child is often used as a term of endearment; such as the English pet names of Dick or Dicky for Richard, W'att and Watty for Walter, Bob or Bobby for Robert. Evidently Bob and Bobby answer to Egyptian forms of the same kind; for instance, in later times, under the New Kingdom, we meet with names such as T'ut'y, T'ut'eu, Tey, Naney, Tepa, Pepiu, Papepe, and others. [Source: Adolph Erman, “Life in Ancient Egypt”, 1894]
It may be concluded, from what we have said, that the Egyptians attached less importance to names than other nations of the same degree of civilization. This is strange, for on the other side they thought much of a name enduring to posterity. According to the Egyptian faith, one could do nothing better for any one than by inscriptions and representations to “cause his name to live," and nothing worse than to allow it to perish.
Ethnonyms, Banned Names and Persons Without Names
cartouche of Ramses II
Günter Vittmann of the University of Würzburg wrote: “Ethnonyms that were also used as personal names include aAm, aAmt “the Asiatic (man/woman)”. Examples occur mostly in the Middle Kingdom (ca. 2030–1640 B.C.), although some exceptions are already attested in the late Old Kingdom. NHsj, later PA-nHsj, 6A-nHsjt “the Nubian (man/woman)” is attested from the Middle Kingdom to the Late Period, as is JkSj, later PA-jkS, 6A-jkS “the Kushite (man/woman)”. PA-xr, 6A-xrt “the Syrian (man/woman)” is known from the New Kingdom to the Late Period, while PA-jSwr, PA-jSr “The Syrian” (man) is only attested in the Late Period. [Source: Günter Vittmann, University of Würzburg, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology 2013, escholarship.org ]
“In some stelae of the Middle Kingdom we find individuals referred to as “He/She is unknown,” a phrase that had been interpreted as a proper name by Ranke. Spiegel argued that these formulations were rather devices for indicating persons whose identity, for some reason or another, had become unknown, but Fischer showed that they are actual personal names. Two Demotic papyri from the Ptolemaic Period (304–30 B.C.) contain the group Bw-jr-rx.j-rn.f, “I do not know his name,” in a context where a personal name is expected, and the Greek rendering Βερεχερινος seems to confirm this. Nevertheless, it is perhaps possible that at least the first instance, as supposed by its editor, is a case of “anonymous paternity.” The frequent Demotic personal names PA- bw-jr-rx.f and PA-bw-jr-rx.s are usually understood in the sense of “He is not known” or “Anonymous”. Quaegebeur doubted this interpretation, without, however, specifying his reasons.
“In much the same way as Tutankhaton had his name changed to Tutankhamen, so too an individual’s name, if considered “politically incorrect,” had to be altered. Such was the case with at least three individuals called Parennefer (PA-rn-nfr) “the beautiful name,” or perhaps rather “He of (the king with) the beautiful name”, alluding to the odious interlude of Amarna. The most important of them, a High Priest of Amun, was also called Wnn-nfr; his other name fell victim to persecution in the early part of the reign of Ramesses II.”
Mutilated and Obliterated Names
The Egyptians zealously endeavored to root out and destroy the names and figures of people they hated; this act of revenge was common at all periods, and was practised by kings as well as by private individuals. Thus we find in a tomb of the Old Kingdom, preserved intact, that the names and representations of two of the sons of the deceased have been carefully chiselled out, evidently according to the father's orders, who, after the building of his tomb, had occasion to be displeased with these sons." [Source: Adolph Erman, “Life in Ancient Egypt”, 1894]
One chiseled out named belonged to a very distinguished man, the “hereditary prince, and the prince, the nearest friend of the king, the high priest with the right to wear the royal apron, the judge and prophet of Ma'at, the great priest of Osiris," etc., in short, to a high priest of Abydos. In his youth he had held a government appointment; “bearing the order of the king, he had done what the king pleased," his office was “famous in all the country “and King Senusret I. “set him amongst his friends, because he was excellent in the eyes of his majesty." Finally, he succeeded his father as high priest of Abydos, and died after holding this office for twenty-four years. There is nothing in the long inscription to show us that any cloud had come between him and the court, and yet after his death something wrong must have been discovered about him, or some enemy of his must have come into power, for his name has been so carefully erased in the two places where it formerly stood that no sign of it can be read.
It follows as a matter of course that the Pharaohs did the same towards rival kings or towards those predecessors whom they disliked. Many examples could be given: for instance, Thutmose III. caused to be chipped out all the names and figures of Chnemtamun his sister, who probably had kept him in tutelage much longer than was right. If we examine closely the mutilated monuments of Queen Chnemtamun we find other injuries, which were not due to the anger of her brother and guardian. The name and figure of the god Amun is carefully erased everywhere, evidently by the heretic king Chuen'eten, who instituted the worship of the sun's disk, and throughout his reign tried consistently to strike out the name of Amun in all the temples and tombs in the Nile valley. This fanatic attempted to establish the worship of one god, in order that his “name should endure for ever in the mouth of the living."
cartouche of Cleopatra at Edfu temple
Günter Vittmann of the University of Würzburg wrote: “In addition to erasure, there were several ways of dealing with the names of disgraced persons . The changing of an individual’s name as a punishment for criminal behavior is attested in the so-called “Turin Judicial Papyrus” relating to the harem conspiracy under Ramesses III. For example, the “new” sinister names MsD-sw-Ra “Ra hates him” and Bjn-m- WAst “Bad in Thebes,” or “(The) bad one is in Thebes”, conferred on two of the criminals clearly point to original forms with opposite meanings, Mr-sw-Ra and Nfr-m- WAst, and indirectly evoke Seth, who could be named Bjn-rn.f “Whose name is bad”. [Source: Günter Vittmann, University of Würzburg, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology 2013, escholarship.org ]
“In a Demotic papyrus from the Roman Period, a man who had committed several cultic sacrileges is delivered the following message of an oracle-giving divine child by a third party: “I did not allow your name to be called, the name which your mother gave to you. Your name will be called PtrAA, (although) Petarensnuphis was your (original) name, because I have found out your heart. Similarly with reference to another evildoer whose name had been changed to PA-dj: “I changed the name which your mother gave to you. I did not allow your name to be called Petosiris son of Espmetis, because I have found out your heart”. The highly pejorative use of these apparent abbreviations is noteworthy and surprising, given the fact that abbreviations were otherwise rather common at all periods of Egyptian history.
“Another means of outlawing an individual consisted in adding an appropriate determinative to the unchanged name. In some papyri of the late Ramesside Period, the name of the general and viceroy of Nubia PAj- nHsj is provided with the determinative for enemies. The extinction of name, memory, and future existence is often mentioned as a threat for potential evildoers and there is enough philological and archaeological evidence to show that such threats were realized when necessary. A royal decree from the 17th Dynasty stipulates the grave measures that are to be taken against “Cursed be his name! (wA n rn.f), Teti’s son Minhotep” for some serious cultic crime the exact nature of which is a matter of debate: he is to be ousted forever from both his office and his position in the temple, his provisions are to be canceled, and “his name shall not be remembered in this temple”. The result of similar measures may be seen in the well-known cases of Senenmut and other persons of the New Kingdom but is also attested in Old Kingdom tombs of several officials in Saqqara.”
See Separate Article: After Her Death HATSHEPSUT (1507 TO 1458 B.C.): HER FAMILY, LIFE, DEATH, MUMMY AND THUTMOSE III africame.factsanddetails.com
Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons except Coptic and Wolof language charts, Quora.com and the Proto-Semitic chart, Encyclopaedia Britannica.
Text Sources: UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, escholarship.org ; Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Egypt sourcebooks.fordham.edu ; Tour Egypt, Minnesota State University, Mankato, ethanholman.com; Mark Millmore, discoveringegypt.com discoveringegypt.com; Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Geographic, Smithsonian magazine, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Discover magazine, Times of London, Natural History magazine, Archaeology magazine, The New Yorker, BBC, Encyclopædia Britannica, Time, Newsweek, Wikipedia, Reuters, Associated Press, The Guardian, AFP, Lonely Planet Guides, “World Religions” edited by Geoffrey Parrinder (Facts on File Publications, New York); “History of Warfare” by John Keegan (Vintage Books); “History of Art” by H.W. Janson Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.), Compton’s Encyclopedia and various books and other publications.
Last updated July 2024