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Part of a full chart: Who you are

Initials in numerology: first impression and meaning

Your initials are the two letters that open your identity: the impression you leave before anyone really knows you.

The 26 values

By Thomas Guilhot · updated

Initials: the 26 values in brief

  • A
    The drive that opens the way

    The initial A suggests drive: people see you as the one who starts, proposes, and moves forward without waiting for the signal.

  • B
    A reassuring presence

    The initial B gives the image of a gentle, attentive presence: people confide in you faster than in others, often at the very first meeting.

  • C
    Ease in conversation

    The initial C leaves a lively impression: people find you easy to approach, sometimes funny, and they remember your stories.

  • D
    Reliability at first glance

    The initial D gives an impression of reliability: people readily hand you a key, a file, or an organizing job.

  • E
    A taste for discovery

    The initial E gives the image of a person on the move: curious, open to the unexpected, always up for trying a place or an idea.

  • F
    Attentiveness people notice

    The initial F gives a first impression of thoughtfulness: people sense that you look after others’ well-being, often before they ask.

  • G
    A reserve that intrigues

    The initial G leaves an impression of thoughtful reserve: people sense you are alert to details, in no hurry to speak.

  • H
    Poise from the moment you enter

    The initial H inspires confidence at once: people credit you with weight, an ability to decide and to hold a course from the first meeting.

  • I
    A sensitivity open to the world

    The initial I leaves a first impression of broad sensitivity: people sense that the world touches you and that a cause can mobilize you.

  • J
    The drive that gets things done

    The initial J gives a first impression of practical independence: people picture you already trying a solution while others are still discussing it.

  • K
    A frank, rare intuition

    The initial K gives a singular first impression: great sensitivity to others, expressed with a frankness that surprises from the first meeting.

  • L
    Words that flow

    The initial L gives a first impression of pleasant ease: your words come easily and people feel good in conversation with you.

  • M
    A reassuring constancy

    The initial M gives a first impression of loyalty: people sense that your habits, your loved ones, and your word matter a great deal to you.

  • N
    A liveliness that circulates

    The initial N leaves a first impression of liveliness: a conversation that jumps from topic to topic and a schedule that keeps moving.

  • O
    A welcome at first glance

    The initial O gives a first impression of welcome: people feel expected at your place, and readily picture you around a big table.

  • P
    A late-revealed independence

    The initial P gives a first impression of independent discretion: people sense a rich inner world you show only over time.

  • Q
    A singularity people remember

    The initial Q leaves a striking first impression: a rare letter, a presence people remember, and a clear way of announcing what you want.

  • R
    Ardor in service of a cause

    The initial R gives a first impression of commitment: people see you speak up for a cause and bring others along in your wake.

  • S
    A presence you can feel

    The initial S gives a first impression of intense presence: people notice you without your speaking, and your emotions are quickly read.

  • T
    A sense of service

    The initial T gives an impression of helpfulness: people know you are always available to lend a hand and support a team.

  • U
    An openness that welcomes

    The initial U leaves a first impression of openness: people sense your wish to welcome other people’s ideas and help them grow.

  • V
    A vision that builds

    The initial V gives a first impression of a builder: people picture you designing an overall project and seeing it through, stage by stage.

  • W
    A taste for the big departure

    The initial W leaves a first impression of boldness: a rare letter, a person associated with changes of scenery and quick decisions.

  • X
    A discreet protection

    The initial X leaves a mysterious first impression: a protective presence, attentive to its own people, that keeps its reasons for acting private.

  • Y
    A mind apart

    The initial Y leaves a singular impression: a mind apart, one that forms its own opinion and does not follow the crowd.

  • Z
    Tenacity to the very end

    The initial Z gives a first impression of tenacity: people sense you can see an objective through to the end when others would have given up.

What are the initials?

Before anyone remembers your story, they remember two letters: the ones that open your first name and your last name. They appear at the bottom of an email, on a mailbox, embroidered on a towel, or scribbled in the corner of a child’s drawing. Numerology gives them a precise role: describing the effect you produce at first glance, what people think of you during the first ten minutes of an interview, a dinner, or a neighborhood meeting. They are a business card, not a full portrait.

Among the numbers in a profile, the initials sit at the surface. The life path number speaks of the whole road, the Expression number of the personality that shows over time, the Soul Urge number of what motivates you in secret. The initials describe the threshold: how you walk into a room, introduce yourself, answer the first question. They come into play with every new encounter, at any age, and count most in moments when people do not know you yet: a new job, the start of a school year, a move to another city.

Each letter has its own page. Three letters share almost every value (A, J, and S all give 1), yet they do not produce the same effect: one opens the alphabet, another arrives on the second lap, the third on the last; some are vowels, others rare consonants. These pages therefore describe the particular color of each letter, beyond its digit. The reading then adds the initials number, the sum of the letters reduced, which sums up the effect of the pair and has its own pages.

When the initial of your first name and the initial of your last name look alike, the first impression is clear. When they contrast, people discover you in two stages: a first image, then a nuance that surprises.

How to calculate them

Take the first letter of your first given name, then the first letter of the family name on your birth certificate. A compound first or last name, such as Jean-Pierre or Martin-Leroy, gives one initial per part. Give each letter its digit: 1 for A, J, S; 2 for B, K, T; 3 for C, L, U; and so on, step by step, up to the 9 of I and R.

For Claire Dupont, you read the C (3) and then the D (4). Each initial is first read on its own, on its page. You then add the digits to get the initials number: 3 + 4 = 7. Some systems give K an 11 and V a 22, their position in the alphabet; here, as in Fermier’s method, every letter is worth 1 to 9.

Common mistakes with the initials

  1. Stopping at the first name’s initial. The reading covers at least two letters: the one from the first name and the one from the birth surname.

  2. For Jean-Pierre, taking only the J. The two parts of a compound first name each give their letter, here J and P, before the one from the surname.

  3. Giving K and V their position in the alphabet. In this method, K counts 2 and V counts 4, like any letter reduced to 1 through 9.

  4. Mixing up A, J, and S because they share the digit 1: each has its own page, because its place in the alphabet nuances that digit.

Frequently asked questions: initials

How do you calculate your initials in numerology?

Isolate the two leading letters, one from your first name and one from your birth surname, and read their digit in the alphabet chart: the first nine letters count from 1 to 9 in order, then the series starts over with J. For Marc Leroy, M counts 4 and L counts 3. Added and reduced, they give 7: the initials number.

What do the initials of a first and last name reveal?

They describe the image people form of you at the very first contact: at a first date, an interview, or a presentation. They do not sum up the whole personality, which other numbers in the profile cover, starting with the life path number and the Expression number. They speak of the threshold, not the house.

Should you use the initials of your married name or your birth name?

The reading uses the name you were given at birth, as recorded on your civil registration. A name you use later, adopted after a marriage for example, still changes the business card that others see every day: you can also read the page for that new initial, as a nuance added by adult life.

Is the first name initial the cornerstone?

Yes, in other approaches to numerology: the first letter of the first name is called the “cornerstone” there and is considered the foundation of character. The reading offered here is more modest. The first name initial forms, together with the surname initial, the business card shown to people who do not know you yet. Both approaches look at the same letter; they simply do not give it the same weight.

How do you read the initials of a compound first name or double surname?

Each part contributes its letter, and each is read on its own page. Jean-Pierre Martin-Leroy thus has four initials: J, P, M, and L. You can see in the first of each side the main note, and in the following ones a nuance that people perceive a little later in the exchange. A secondary first name from the birth record, set off by a comma, is only added in the full reading.

Do your initials change over a lifetime?

The ones in the reading stay fixed, since they come from the birth certificate. What changes is their weight: they count for a lot when everyone is discovering you, on entering middle school or at a first job, then fade behind what those close to you know about you. A married name, a nickname, or a professional signature can also put another letter first: its page is then read as an added layer.

What does it mean to have the same initial twice?

Identical initials, as with Marc Martin, give a first impression of a single color, with no contrast: people place you quickly, and the image holds. The initials number simply doubles the value of the letter, M (4) + M (4) = 8, and the letter’s page is read only once. The possible downside is a somewhat fixed image, which your words or attitude nuance over the course of your exchanges.

What is the difference between initials and the initials number?

The initials are read letter by letter, each with its own color. The initials number adds their values and reduces the total: it conveys the overall effect. Léa Martin thus has an L and an M, two separate readings, and an initials number of 7, since L (3) + M (4) = 7. The letter brings the nuance, the number the general tone; each has its own pages.

Where do you find the initials in the reading?

In the “Who you are” chapter, right after the planes of expression. The reading first shows the calculation, letter by letter, then a text for each initial, only once if a letter repeats, and finally the initials number. The first vowel comes next. Nothing prevents comparing this surface image with the Expression number and the Soul Urge number, which describe what people discover about you later.

Go further

  • Initials number

    The initials number captures the impression you leave at first contact, based on the first letters of your first and last names.

  • First vowel

    The first vowel shows your most immediate reaction when an event upsets your plans, before reflection kicks in.

  • Transit letter

    Your transit letter is the letter of your name that goes with one particular year: a second color, set beside your personal year.

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 areHereditary number

    The hereditary number describes what you take from your lineage: values, reflexes, and supports drawn from your birth surname.

  • Who you arePlanes of expression

    The planes of expression sort your name into four registers, mental, physical, emotional, intuitive: your doors into the world.