concerning transliteration:
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NAMES IN ANCIENT EGYPT

THE FIVE ROYAL NAMES

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Names in Ancient Egypt.
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Ancient Egyptian names represented either individual characteristics, devotion to a particular god or location, or reflected specific events. The most simple names were made up of nouns or adjectives alone, such as Neferet (nfrt - "beautiful [woman]") or User (wsr - "powerful [man]"). Others had the form of a statement, such as Amenhotep (imn-htp - "Amen is pleased") or Hatshepsut (HAt-Spswt - "Foremost of Noble Women").

Epithets were sometimes added to more popular names in order to distinguish one bearer of such a name from another. Often used were epithets like Aa (Aa - "great" or eldest), Hery-ib (Hry-ib - the middle child) and Nedjes (nDs - "small" or youngest). Names of a child's parents were sometimes added as well. If refering to a father's name the epithet would then be ir-en [...] (ir-n - "conceived by") while when refering to a mother's name this most often would be mes-en [...] (ms-n - "born of"). The use of nicknames and abbreviations was also quite common in Ancient Egypt: "Meryamun", "Meryneith" a.o. could be shortened to "Mery" or "Maya" while names like "Nefertiti" could be abbreviated to "Tiy". Nicknames such as Tahemet (tA-hmt - "the wife") often recurred, while others seem to have been more personal.
 

Ancient Egyptians accorded names with a very high value. Those were viewed as constituent parts of (human) personality, without which a person was not entire, and therefore destined to a certain state of non-existence. A name provided a person with identity. It was believed that its influence was so great that having knowledge of a thing's name, meant having power over it.
 

This belief is particulary noticeable in the "execration texts", found throughout Egypt, mostly in the proximity of burial grounds. In such "execration texts" the name of a dangerous animal or evil spirit was written down on a pottery bowl or figurine, which then got smashed, symbolically killing "the evil inside". Many magic spells also existed to protect a person's name against such actions.
 

A more positive example of the importance of an individual's name is to be found in the frequent use of representations of the King's name, to replace the actual image of the King himself. As such the King's existence and power were apparent by the presence of his name alone. The limestone fragment to the right (from "Pharaohs of the Sun") shows the Overseer of Works User-Seth (wsr-stX - "Seth is powerful") kneeling in adoration before the throne name of King Akhenaten. The text states that he is "praising the living Aten" - in other words the King, being the Aten's representative on earth.
 

Under certain circumstances a person's name could also be changed. In the so-called Harem Conspiracy Papyrus, dating from the reign of Ramesses III, this is most obvious. Following the attempt (or at least the plot) to murder the King, the papyrus concerns the trial of those involved. Apart from the chief defendant Tiy, one of Ramesses' minor queens, most of the accused bear names that clearly were not theirs at birth. Because of their terrible crime, they were given names that emphasised their wicked personality and underlined the dislike the gods had for them. Two defendants for instance are called Mesedsure (msD-sw-ra - "Ra hates him") and Binemwese (bin-m-wAst - "evil in Thebes"). This rare event shows perfectly how closely a person's name and identity were considered to be connected.

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The Five Royal Names.
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The modern term "Pharaoh" is a corruption of Middle Egyptian pr-Aa ("great house"). Originally refering to the King's palace, this term equally refered to the King himself from at least the reign of Thutmose III. The titles of Nesoe (nsw - most often translated as "King"), Ity (ity - "sovereign") and Heqa (HqA - "ruler") were however more commonly used. Furthermore the King could be addressed as hm-k ("your Majesty") or hm-f ("his Majesty").

Modern King lists name the numerous Egyptian Kings by their birth names, but the original King lists (such as the Royal Lists of Abydos and Karnak) use their throne names. Until the 4th Dynasty Kings only really used their Horus name, but by the Middle Kingdom five names already formed the King's complete, unique name: the earlier mentioned birth, throne and Horus names and the lesser used Golden Horus and Nebti names. This practice was maintained until the Roman conquest of Egypt.

In the following overview of the 5 royal names, the example titles are those of Thutmose III.

 

1. HORUS NAME.

The Horus name is the oldest part of the royal titulary, asserting that the King is the earthly embodiment of Horus. The name was traditionally inscribed within a Serekh, an archaic rectangular form that probably represented the palace façade, with Horus perching on top of it in the form of a falcon. During the Early Dynastic Period, this falcon of Horus had been part of the King's name (King Aha was known as Hor-Aha, "Fighting Horus/Hawk"), but it evolved as a symbol of Kingship in itself. Until the early Old Kingdom the Horus name was the King's official name, but afterwards the nomen and prenomen (birth and throne names) became more popular for official texts.
 

kA-nxt xai-m-wAst
Kanakht Khaemwaset
(Horus) Mighty Bull, Arising in Thebes

 

2. NEBTI NAME.

The Nebti name is accompanied by a depiction of the Upper Egyptian vulture-goddess Nekhbet and the Lower Egyptian cobra-goddess Wadjet (or Uto). These are the two goddesses refered to by the meaning of nbti ("He of the Two Ladies"). As such the Nebti name intends to confirm that the King rules both Upper and Lower Egypt. The Nebti name existed since the 1st Dynasty, but it was not until the 12th Dynasty that it became a standard part of royal titulary.
 

wAH-nsyt (mi-ra-m-pt)
Wahnesyt (miraempet)
(He of the Two Ladies) Enduring in Kingship (like Re in Heaven)

 

3. GOLDEN HORUS NAME.

The Golden Horus name is preceded by an image of the falcon god Horus, perched on a symbol that still inspires some debate. The traditional explanation for this symbol (a necklace with pendants) is that it represents nbw ("gold") and thus eternity, expressing the desire of a King to be an "eternal Horus". The Greek equivalent of this title, as found on the Rosetta stone, translates it as "superior to (his) foes" though, and so it has been suggested that the Golden Horus name actually symbolises the victory of Horus over Seth of Ombos (modern day Kom Ombo, a town which Ancient Egyptians called nwbt - "Nubet"). This theory however is derived from Greek sources and doesn't necessarily provide an adequate explanation for a title that originated in the Old Kingdom already (yet became standard only during the Middle Kingdom). The Golden Horus name may even have been an epithet rather than a separate name, due to its similarity with the Nebti name.
 

Dsr-xaw sxm-pHti
Djeserkhau Sekhempehty
(Golden Horus) Sacred of Appearances, Powerful of Strength

 

4. THRONE NAME (Prenomen).

The prenomen or throne name gradually became the King's most important title. It was introduced during the 1st Dynasty, but it was only when King Snefru of the 4th Dynasty had it enclosed by a cartouche that the throne name supplanted the Horus name as the primary means to identify the King. Since then the throne name was always inscribed within a cartouche (called Snw or "shenu"). This stylized form of tied rope was based on the sign for Sn ("eternity") and Sni ("to encircle"), but French scholars named it a "cartouche" after its cartridge-like shape. Ever since the 11th Dynasty it was also custom to have the throne name contain the name of the sun god Ra: this reinforced his position as King of the Gods, and underlines the importance of solar theology to kingship. Not even an often called "rebel" King as Akhenaten dwelled from this. The title of nsw-biti that accompanies the throne name, is literally translated as "He of Sedge and Bee". Traditionally it indicates that the King rules over Upper (sedge) and Lower (bee) Egypt, but some scholars see it as a reference to the duality of the eternal kingship (the re-growing sedge) and the individual mortal King (the short-lived bee). Sometimes this nsw-biti was replaced by the phrase nb-tAwy ("Lord of the Two Lands"). Thus (as with the Nebti name) it stressed the King's ability to keep the lands united.
 

mn-xpr-ra
Menkheperre
(He of Sedge and Bee) Everlasting is the Manifestation of Ra

 

5. BIRTH NAME (Nomen).

The nomen or birth name was included in royal titulary during the 4th Dynasty. Indicating the divine nature of the King, this name was introduced by the title of sa-ra ("Son of Ra") and inscribed within a cartouche as well since the 5th Dynasty. In a few cases the cartouche around the birth name is topped by the sign for gold and two serpents encircling a sun disk. This nomen is the King's name that usually sounds most familiar. Various Kings of one Dynasty often had the same nomen, like Intef and Montuhotep (11th Dynasty), Amememhet and Senwosret (12th Dynasty), Amenhotep and Thutmose (18th Dynasty) and of course Ramesses (20th Dynasty). From time to time the title of "Son of Ra" was replaced with titles as di-anx-mi-ra ("given life like Ra"), nb-xaw ("lord of appearances") or nTr-nfr ("the Good God"). Especially the last substitute is interesting, as it seems to be a minor form of nTr-aA ("the Great God"), a description only given to a King when deceased.
 

DHwti-msi(w) (nfr-xprw)
Djehutymose (Thutmose) (Neferkheperu)
(Son of Ra) Born of Djehuty [Thoth] (Beautiful of Manifestations)

These royal names were part of the essential requirements for a King. All five names however are rarely used together, except on objects from the King's coronation and few other isolated artefacts. Throughout this site, and particularly in the King's General Profiles, little mention is made of the three least important names (being the Horus, Nebti and Golden Horus names). As these were less frequently used and seem to have had a greater function in decorum than in substance, they would prove to be more of a distraction than they would be a welcome addition to the articles here.

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Bibliography.
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Peter A. Clayton.
Chronicle of the Pharaohs:
The Reign-by-Reign Record of the Rulers and Dynasties of Ancient Egypt.
Thames & Hudson, London, 1994.
 

Bruce G. Trigger, B. J. Kemp, D. O'Connor, A. B. Lloyd.
Ancient Egypt: A Social History.
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1983.
 

Ian Shaw (editor).
The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt.
Oxford University Press, New York, 2000.
 

Rita E. Freed, Yvonne J. Markowitz, Sue H. D'Auria.
Pharaohs of the Sun. Akhenaten - Nefertiti - Tutankhamen.
Boston Museum of Fine Arts, London, 1999, p. 181.
 

Erik Hornung.
Der Geist der Pharaonenzeit.
Artemis Verlag, Zürich und München, 1989.

 

RECOMMENDED ONLINE READING :
 

Personal Names and Gender Identity at Deir el-Medina.
Megaera Lorenz, Paper presented at the 58th Annual Meeting of the ARCE, Toledo, Ohio, 2007.

Les désignations de la "titulature" royale au Nouvel Empire.
Marie-Ange Bonheme, BIFAO 78 pp. 347-387.