How to Calculate Your Name Number in Cheiro's Chaldean Numerology

This gives you the Chaldean value of any name — the table popularised by Cheiro and the one most Indian practice uses — letter by letter, with the arithmetic shown so you can check it. You only need the spelling you actually use day to day.

The manual method

Write your name in the spelling you actually use — the one on your signature and your everyday documents, not a formal version nobody says out loud.
Replace each letter with its Chaldean value: A, I, J, Q, Y = 1. B, K, R = 2. C, G, L, S = 3. D, M, T = 4. E, H, N, X = 5. U, V, W = 6. O, Z = 7. F, P = 8. Chaldean assigns no letter the value 9.
Add every letter value together. That total is your compound number, and it carries meaning of its own.
Reduce the total by adding its digits, repeating until one digit remains. That single digit is your name number.

Worked example — Aarav Mehta

Letters: A=1, A=1, R=2, A=1, V=6, M=4, E=5, H=5, T=4, A=1
Total: 1 + 1 + 2 + 1 + 6 + 4 + 5 + 5 + 4 + 1 = 30
3 + 0 = 3
Name number: 3

The same name in both systems — Aarav Mehta

Chaldean: A=1, A=1, R=2, A=1, V=6, M=4, E=5, H=5, T=4, A=1 = 30 → 3 + 0 = 3 → 3
Pythagorean: A=1, A=1, R=9, A=1, V=4, M=4, E=5, H=8, T=2, A=1 = 36 → 3 + 6 = 9 → 9
Aarav Mehta comes out as 3 in Chaldean and 9 in Pythagorean. Neither is a mistake. The two systems assign letters differently — Pythagorean numbers them by alphabetical position and uses 9, while Chaldean is based on sound and never gives 9 to a letter — so the same name legitimately produces two figures. If another site gave you a different number from ours, this is almost always why. Everything on this site, including the paid reports, uses Chaldean.
Pythagorean letter values: 1 — A, A, J, J, S, S; 2 — B, B, K, K, T, T; 3 — C, C, L, L, U, U; 4 — D, D, M, M, V, V; 5 — E, E, N, N, W, W; 6 — F, F, O, O, X, X; 7 — G, G, P, P, Y, Y; 8 — H, H, Q, Q, Z, Z; 9 — I, I, R, R

Who Cheiro was, and why the system carries his name

Cheiro was the pen name of Count Louis Hamon, an Irish astrologer and palmist writing around the turn of the twentieth century. He did not invent the Chaldean letter table — it is far older — but his books put it in front of a mass readership, and in India they never went out of print. That is why the same system is sold as Chaldean numerology in one shop and Cheiro numerology in the next.

So when a site offers you a choice between 'Cheiro' and 'Chaldean', it is offering you one thing twice. The letter values are identical. What differs between real systems is which number each letter gets, and on that the meaningful split is Chaldean against Pythagorean.

We use the Chaldean table throughout this site, including in the paid reports, and we publish it in full on the methodology page so you can check any result by hand. The Pythagorean value is shown alongside for comparison, not because we treat it as a second opinion.

Why Chaldean never assigns a 9

In the Chaldean table no letter is worth 9. This surprises people and is often reported as a bug in a calculator. It is not. The classical explanation is that 9 was held as sacred and kept out of the letter assignments, so a 9 can only appear in a name number as the result of reducing a larger total.

Pythagorean does assign 9 to letters. That single difference is why the two systems disagree on most names, and why a name can be a 9 in one and never a 9 in the other.

What about Sepharial, Kabbalah and 'Modern' systems?

Some calculators offer four or more letter tables in a dropdown. We deliberately offer two. A reader who is handed four different numbers for the same name, with no basis for choosing between them, has been given less information rather than more — the arithmetic is only useful if you know which table produced it and can reproduce it.

Chaldean is what Indian practice uses and what this site computes. Pythagorean is the widespread Western alternative, so we show it for comparison. Anything beyond those two we would be adding for the sake of the dropdown, not because a reading depends on it, and we would rather publish two tables we can stand behind than four we cannot.

What this number does not tell you

A name number describes the impression a name makes, not a fixed fate. Chaldean and Pythagorean produce different numbers because they assign letters differently — neither is a mistake, they are separate systems, and a number is only meaningful alongside the one it is calculated with.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does Chaldean never use the number 9?

In the Chaldean system 9 is treated as sacred and is not assigned to any letter. It still appears as a result when a total reduces to 9 — it simply is not given to a letter directly. Pythagorean numerology does assign 9, which is one reason the two systems disagree on the same name.

Should I use my full legal name or my short name?

Use the name people actually call you and that you sign. Chaldean numerology weighs the name in active use, so a formal name that never gets spoken carries less relevance than the one on your everyday signature.

Does the surname count?

Include it if you use it routinely. Many people calculate the first name alone for personal character and the full name for public and professional matters — calculate both if you are unsure, since they answer slightly different questions.

Is Cheiro's Chaldean numerology the same as Chaldean numerology?

Yes. Cheiro — the pen name of Count Louis Hamon — popularised the Chaldean letter table in his books, and in India the system is often sold under his name. The letter values are identical either way. A calculator offering 'Cheiro' and 'Chaldean' as separate options is offering the same table twice.

How is Chaldean different from Pythagorean numerology?

Three things. Chaldean assigns no letter the value 9, Pythagorean does. Chaldean values are traditionally explained by sound rather than alphabetical position. And Chaldean practice reads the compound two-digit total before reducing it, where Pythagorean usually goes straight to the single digit. Because the letter values differ, the two systems disagree on most names.

Is Chaldean more accurate than Pythagorean?

Neither system is measurable against the other, so accuracy is not a claim we can support and we will not make it. What is true is that Chaldean is the table Indian practice uses, which is why this site computes it throughout. We show the Pythagorean value alongside so you can see where the two differ rather than having to take one on trust.

What is a compound number?

The two-digit total before it is reduced. A name adding to 23 has a compound number of 23 and a single digit of 5. Chaldean practice treats the compound number as carrying its own meaning, which is why the calculator above shows the full sum rather than only the final digit.

What are the three core numbers this calculator returns?

The name number, from every letter. The soul number, from the vowels only, read as inner motivation. The personality number, from the consonants only, read as the impression a name makes before anyone knows you. All three are shown with their letter-by-letter working.

Every table on this page is published in full, with what we will and will not compute, on our how we calculate page.

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One number, or all of them

A calculator answers one question at a time. The complete numerology report works out your Mulank, Bhagyank and name number in one place and shows where they agree and where they pull against each other, with every calculation printed.