8. Onomancy was the belief that a person’s name alone could reveal what their true character was like, and what their future destiny was
In Ancient Greece, just as in Ancient Rome, a name was never just a name. Rather, according to believers in onomancy, what a person was called could not only shed light on their character, but also be a useful basis for predicting their future. Above all, the practice of reading meaning in names was practiced by the Pythagoreans, the sect that was built up around the charismatic mathematician and philosopher. It’s believed that, as the Roman Empire adopted Christianity as its official religion, the practice of onomancy died out, only to return again during the Early Middle Ages.
During the so-called Dark Ages, specialist seers would claim to be able to predict a person’s future based on their name. Influenced by Kabbalist studies, they assigned letters numerical values, with these added up to give a reading. For instance, a knight with more vowels in his name would likely defeat a rival with fewer vowels in his name in a joust. Such beliefs even found their way into Christian thought. The Leofric Missal, produced in the mystical English town of Glastonbury in 970AD, for example, is heavy in onomancy. Though true believers are rare today, many people still believe there are ‘good’ and ‘unlucky’ names.