First vowel of your name: meaning and calculation
The first vowel shows your most immediate reaction when an event upsets your plans, before reflection kicks in.
By Thomas Guilhot · updated
First vowel: the 6 values in brief
- AThe reflex of taking initiative
The first vowel A is the vowel of initiative: faced with a setback, you act at once, before you have even understood everything.
- EThe reflex of adapting
The first vowel E is the vowel of flexibility: when plans change, you look right away at what the new situation makes possible.
- IThe reflex of helping others
The first vowel I is the vowel of mutual aid: facing a blow, you first ask yourself who needs help.
- OThe reflex of protecting your own
The first vowel O is the vowel of protection: when something goes wrong, you first try to preserve harmony and reassure.
- UThe reflex of putting it into words
The first vowel U is the vowel of expression: faced with the unexpected, you feel the need to tell, to comment, often with humor.
- YThe reflex of stepping back
The first vowel Y is the vowel of stepping back: when the unexpected strikes, you withdraw for a moment to analyze before answering.
What is the first vowel?
All it takes is a canceled train, a rescheduled appointment, or a bad surprise at work to bring out a reflex in each of us. Some people act right away, others step back, others still think first of those close to them. The first vowel of the family name describes that movement: the reaction that comes before any considered decision.
Vowels have a special role in numerology. Taken together, they give the Soul Urge number, which speaks of deep aspirations. The first of them is read on its own, as the front door to that inner world: it is what shows up fastest, unfiltered. Six letters are possible, and each points to a number: 1 for A, 3 for U, 5 for E, 6 for O, 7 for Y, and 9 for I. Each page in this section describes one of them.
In a profile, the first vowel sits among the character traits, next to the active number, the hereditary number, and the initials. It does not describe a way of living all day long, but specific moments: an unexpected announcement, an annoyance, a plan upended the night before. It holds at any age, and experience often teaches you to temper it. Knowing your reflex helps you avoid being at its mercy: you recognize it, and then you choose what to do with it.
It is not the same as the vowel of the first name, which some schools read in its place.
How to calculate it
Start from the family name on the birth certificate, written without accents, and look for the first vowel from the left. Six letters count: A, E, I, O, U, and Y. Y is included in every case, whether or not it sounds like an I. For Martin, it is the A; for Lyon, the Y; for Schmitt, the I. When the name is compound, the first vowel of the whole name decides, and the one in the second part adds a nuance. Other methods look for this vowel in the first name, or treat Y as a vowel only when it sounds like one.
Common mistakes with the first vowel
Looking for the vowel in the first name. The method takes it from the surname given at birth.
Skipping the Y because it is not pronounced like a vowel: in Lyon, it comes before the O and gives 7.
Going by sound rather than spelling. Ouvrard starts with O and Aubert with A, even though the ear hears “oo” and “oh.”
Keeping the accent or the umlaut: Éluard is read from an E, Müller from a U.
For a compound name, preferring the vowel of the second part. The first part’s vowel decides; the other only adds a nuance.
Frequently asked questions: first vowel
How do you find your first vowel in numerology?
Write your birth surname without accents and read it from left to right: the first letter that is a vowel, Y included, is the one that counts. For Dubois, it is U; for Petit, E; for Leroy, also E. Each vowel has its value: A is 1, U is 3, E is 5, O is 6, Y is 7, and I is 9. This number gives the color of your reflex.
Is Y a vowel in numerology?
Yes. On this site, Y is always counted among the vowels, regardless of how it is pronounced. Some English-language schools count it as a vowel only when it sounds like an I, which can change the result for a name like Yanez, where it sounds like a consonant. For a name whose first vowel is a Y, like Lyon, the first vowel is worth 7.
Should you look for the first vowel in the first name or the surname?
Here, in the birth surname. This choice follows the idea that the spontaneous reflex comes in part from what you received from your lineage, before any personal upbringing. Other methods look for it in the first name; the two readings then do not describe quite the same thing. For a compound surname, the second part adds an extra nuance.
If the surname starts with a vowel, is that the one that counts?
Yes: the first letter of the surname is then also its first vowel. Arnaud gives the A, Ouvrard the O, Yvon the Y. In that case, the surname initial and the first vowel coincide, which reinforces a single color: the impression left on others and the reaction to the unexpected point the same way. When the surname starts with a consonant, you simply move forward to the first vowel you meet.
What is the difference between the first vowel and the Soul Urge number?
The Soul Urge number adds all the vowels of the first name and surname: it reflects your deep, lasting motivations. The first vowel keeps only one, the one that opens the surname, and speaks of a moment: your reaction when a plan goes off the rails. You can thus have a Soul Urge 2, inclined toward agreement, and a first vowel A, which pushes you to decide on the spot.
My surname has no vowel: what should I do?
The case exists, with certain short names or names transcribed from other languages, like Ng. The first vowel reading then does not apply, and the report simply says so. The vowels of your first name are still counted in the Soul Urge number, and other markers from the same chapter, the initials and the planes of expression, take over to describe the way you make contact.
Does the first vowel change with age?
The letter does not change, since it comes from the birth name. What moves is the gap between the reflex and the response. Around age twenty, an E may push you to quit everything on impulse; a few years later the same urge remains, but you take a breath before following it. The name you go by is not used here: it describes another role, which can be read separately.
Why is U worth 3 and I worth 9?
Because each letter takes the digit of its rank, and the count starts over at 1 every nine letters. I is the ninth letter, hence its 9. U is the twenty-first: after two complete series, it lands in third position of the last round, hence its 3. The same principle gives 1 to A, 5 to E, 6 to O, the fifteenth letter, and 7 to Y, the twenty-fifth.
What does the first vowel of the second part of a compound surname say?
It adds a second movement to the main reflex. For Martin-Leroy, the A of Martin describes the immediate reaction; the E of Leroy, what follows once the surprise has passed. The report shows both, with the first taking priority. A name written as two words, like Le Goff, is handled the same way: the E of Le gives the reflex, the O of Goff its nuance.
Go further
- Soul Urge number
The Soul Urge number, or soul number, describes what drives you to act: the desire of the heart, read in the vowels of the name.
- Initials
Your initials are the two letters that open your identity: the impression you leave before anyone really knows you.
- Hereditary number
The hereditary number describes what you take from your lineage: values, reflexes, and supports drawn from your birth surname.
In the same part of a full chart
- Who you areActive number
The active number, also called the first name number, describes the person your family, friends, and neighbors know, away from any official role.
- Who you arePlanes of expression
The planes of expression sort your name into four registers, mental, physical, emotional, intuitive: your doors into the world.
- Who you areInitials number
The initials number captures the impression you leave at first contact, based on the first letters of your first and last names.