true name

plural true names

1. fantasyThe unique name of an entity, which can be used to control or manipulate that entity.

   They conjured a world of primitive magic in which evil spirits could not be given their true names for fear of increasing their power.

   1991 April 23, Martin Cropper, “In The Native State”, in The Times

   2 more examples

   He saw that in this dusty and fathomless matter of learning the true name of each place, thing, and being, the power he wanted lay like a jewel at the bottom of a dry well. For magic consists in this, the true naming of a thing.

   1968, Ursula Le Guin, A Wizard of Earthsea, page 59

   It would be back to the stone floors and getting up when it was still dark and no alcohol under any circumstances and memorising the true names of everything until the brain squeaked.

   1987, Terry Pratchett, Mort, →ISBN, page 229

2. A person's preferred name, particularly where this does not match their legal name.

   Near-synonym: chosen name

   2 more examples

   I suggested to Sofie that another baptism wasn't necessary since God always knew her deepest self, but we could do an affirmation of baptism with her true name.

   2020 September 29, Heidi Neumark, Sanctuary: Being Christian in the Wake of Trump, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, →ISBN, page 13

   Mastercard created the True Name card - the first payments product feature that allows people to prominently feature the name they associate with on the front of their card, without requiring a legal name change.

   2022 May 6, Tom Altstiel, Jean Grow, Dan Augustine, Joanna L. Jenkins, Advertising Creative: Strategy, Copy, and Design, SAGE Publications, →ISBN