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A 'true name' is a name of a thing or being that expresses, or is somehow identical with, its true nature. The notion that language, or some specific sacred language, refers to things by their true names has been central to magic, religious invocation and mysticism (mantras) since antiquity.

Contents

Linguistic context

Folklore

In fantasy literature

In cryptography

References

See also

Linguistic context

The notion of a "true name" is related to the field of phonosemantics, the study of a possible intrinsic relationship between sound (the spoken word) and the thing referred to.
The opposite position is known as conventionalism. This is the default position of modern linguistics at least since Ferdinand de Saussure (''l'arbitraire du signe''), although some scholars, such as Otto Jespersen and George Steiner, take an intermediate position, and there is some renewed research in sound symbolism notably by Margaret Magnus and Vilayanur S. Ramachandran.
Socrates in ''Cratylus (dialogue)'' considers the possibility without taking a clear position. Hellenistic Judaism emphasized the divine nature of ''logos'', later adopted by the Gospel of John. The true name of God plays a central role in Kabbalism (see Gematria, Temurah, JHWH) and in to some extent in Sufism (see 100th name of God). Bhartrhari and his followers advocating the sphota theory argued for an identity of word and meaning in spite of the outward (phonetic) form of a word taking various shapes.
The early modern efforts towards a philosophical language were the quest to recover the language that refers to all things by their true names.
Much of Renaissance demonology is based on the idea of achieving power over a demon by knowledge of its true name.

Folklore

Also in folklore, knowledge of a true name allows to magically affect a person or being.^[1] Such names could give the person who knew them power even over gods in some beliefs, and the effect is used in many tales.^[2]
In ''Rumpelstiltskin'' and all its variants, the girl can free herself from the power of a supernatural helper who demands her child by learning its name.^[3]
A legend of Saint Olaf recounts how a troll built a church for the saint at a fantastic speed and price, but the saint was able to free himself by learning the troll's name in a walk in the woods.^[4] Similarly, the belief that unbaptized children were in particular danger of having the fairies kidnap them and leave changelings in their place may stem from their unnamed state.^[5] In the Scandinavian variants of the ballad ''Earl Brand'', the hero can defeat all his enemies until the heroine, running away with him, pleads with him by name to spare her youngest brother.^[6]
In Scandinavian beliefs, more magical beasts, such as the Nix, could be defeated by calling their name.^[7]

In fantasy literature

This belief is employed in many fantasy works. Bilbo Baggins, in J.R.R. Tolkien's ''The Hobbit'', uses a great deal of trickery to keep the dragon from learning his name, it being very foolish to tell a dragon one's name.^[8]
In fantasy works where magic works by this rule, characters often go to great lengths to conceal their names; this may be a rule for all characters, as in Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea, or for those of magical inclination, as in Larry Niven's ''The Magic Goes Away'', where a wizard is revived from the dead only by another who found his name, with great difficulty.
Such true names are often the name given at birth. Patricia Wrede, in her novel ''Snow-White and Rose-Red'', had a character not succumb to a spell because the caster did not know the name he was baptized by. In ''Operation Chaos'', Poul Anderson had the doctor who delivered a baby not only issue a regular birth certificate, but a secret one, with the newborn's name; the hero, born before such precautions were routine, is glad to hide his daughter's true name. More arcane means may be needed to find a true name. In Earthsea, a wizard must listen for and give the hero his true name; this is performed in both Le Guin's ''A Wizard of Earthsea'' and ''The Tombs of Atuan''. In the Inheritance Trilogy by Christopher Paolini, most magic is performed by using the true names of objects, and occasionally person's true name. In Lawrence Watt-Evans's ''The Wizard Lord'' animals are described as having simple names of only a few syllables, while humans can have almost endless ever-changing names. In the Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud, a magician cannot have full control over a demon if the demon knows the magician's true name. Janny Wurts's Wars of Light and Shadow feature a similar concept, with the order of wizards known as the 'Fellowship of Seven' deriving much of their power from knowing the identity of each thing in creation, and using that to obtain the consent necessary for them to work magic. In Clamp's ''xxxHolic'', the Dimension Witch uses the alias of Ichihara Yuko, telling protagonist Kimihiro Watanuki that the knowledge of a person's true name and birthday grants the power to control their destiny. In Holly Black's novel , learning the full true name of a fairy makes it unable to resist one's commands. In Jim Butcher's Dresden Files books, the protagonist - a wizard - uses his his birth names (Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden) as demonological bargaining chips.
A character's remembering, or learning, his true name, may be an important means of mastering his life. In Hayao Miyazaki's movie ''Spirited Away'', Haku can not escape because he has forgotten his true name in the control of the mistress of the bath-house; he warns Chihiro Ogino against the dangers of forgetting, and she frees him by identifying him.
In the cyberpunk genre following Vernor Vinge's 1981 ''True Names'' and the work of William Gibson, the technological concept of a password is sublimated to a signification analogous to the "true name" of magic and mysticism.

In cryptography

The term "true name" is sometimes used in cryptography and computer security to refer to a name that is assumed to uniquely identify a principal in a global namespace (for example, an X.500 or X.509 Distinguished name). This usage is often critical, with the implication that use of true names is difficult to enforce and unwise to rely on .

References

1. Philip Martin, ''The Writer's Guide to Fantasy Literature: From Dragon's Lair to Hero's Quest'', p 134, ISBN 0-87116-195-8
2. Maria Tatar, ''The Annotated Brothers Grimm'', p 260 W. W. Norton & company, London, New York, 2004 ISBN 0-393-05848-4
3. Maria Tatar, p 128, ''The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales'', ISBN 0-393-05163-3
4. Francis James Child, ''The English and Scottish Popular Ballads'', v 1, p 95, Dover Publications, New York 1965
5. K. M. Briggs, ''The Fairies in English Tradition and Literature'', p 115 University of Chicago Press, London, 1967
6. Francis James Child, ''The English and Scottish Popular Ballads'', v 1, p 91, Dover Publications, New York 1965
7. Francis James Child, ''The English and Scottish Popular Ballads'', v 1, p 95-6, Dover Publications, New York 1965
8. Maria Tatar, ''The Annotated Brothers Grimm'', p 261 W. W. Norton & company, London, New York, 2004 ISBN 0-393-05848-4


★ John Clute and John Grant, ''The Encyclopedia of Fantasy'', "True Name" p 966 ISBN 0-312-10869-8

See also

★ Satnam

★ magic word

★ mantra

★ Names of God

★ Adamic language

★ Logos

★ Shabda

★ Ineffability

★ phonosemantics