Ancient Egyptians generally used a personal name rather than the combination of a first name and a hereditary family surname common today. When two people shared the same name, Egyptians could distinguish them by adding information about their parents, occupation, title, hometown, or other personal details.

A man might be identified as “Sobekhotep, son of Imeny,” while a priest might be named alongside his religious titles and his parents’ names. These additional descriptions helped identify the person, but they were not permanent family surnames passed from one generation to the next.

Did Ancient Egyptians Have Last Names?

Ancient Egyptians did not normally have hereditary last names in the modern sense.

Today, a surname such as Smith, Johnson, or Williams may be shared by generations of the same family. Ancient Egyptian names did not usually work that way. Most people had one principal personal name, although they might also have nicknames, alternative names, titles, or statements identifying their parents.

A person’s full identification could therefore become quite long in an official inscription. It might include:

• A personal name
• The name of the person’s father
• The name of the person’s mother
• A professional or religious title
• A nickname or alternative name
• A connection to a temple, town, or royal institution

These descriptions performed some of the same practical functions as modern last names, but they were not surnames.

How Did Ancient Egyptians Identify People?

When ancient Egyptians needed to distinguish between people with similar names, they often referred to a person’s family relationships.

For example, an inscription might identify someone as: Sobekhotep, son of Imeny, son of Sobekhotep

This wording appears on an inscribed piece of linen dating to Egypt’s 12th Dynasty. It records the man’s personal name, his father’s name, and his grandfather’s name.

This type of identification is called a patronymic, meaning that a person is identified through the name of his or her father.

However, “son of Imeny” was not Sobekhotep’s last name. His children would not automatically inherit “Imeny” as a family surname. Instead, they might be identified as the sons or daughters of Sobekhotep.

Mothers could also be named. A British Museum figure identifies the priest Pasenedjemibnakht as the son of Hor and Mehythat, preserving the names of both parents.

This suggests that family relationships were important for establishing identity, ancestry, and social connections.

Were Occupations Used Like Last Names?

Ancient Egyptian occupations and titles were sometimes written alongside a person’s name, but the title was not normally a surname.

An inscription might identify someone as:

• Scribe
• Overseer
• Physician
• Priest
• Lector priest
• Royal steward
• Commander
• Craftsman
• Temple singer

Titles could be especially important for officials, priests, soldiers, and members of the royal court. They told the reader what position the individual held and often revealed the person’s social status.

For example, the British Museum preserves a statue whose inscription records the name and titles of an official named Hori, as well as details about his family. Hori’s son held religious titles including wab priest and lector priest of Ptah.

Ancient Egyptian priests could hold many different titles. The term hem-netjer, often translated as “servant of the god” or “god’s servant,” was a broad priestly designation. A high-ranking priest might be called hem-netjer-tepi, meaning the “first god’s servant” or high priest.

A title such as “priest of Amun” helped distinguish one person from another, but it could change if the person gained a new office. It was therefore different from a hereditary last name.

Did Ancient Egyptians Have Nicknames?

Some ancient Egyptians had nicknames or alternative names.

Nicknames may have developed because certain personal names were extremely common. Just as several people in a modern community might share the name John or Mary, many Egyptians could have the same name.

A shorter nickname, household name, or second name could make it easier to tell them apart. In some inscriptions, a person may be described with wording equivalent to “also called” or “known as.”

These alternative names could reflect:

• Appearance
• Personality
• Family affection
• Childhood language
• A shortened version of a longer name
• A connection with a god or place

Not every nickname was recorded. Most of what historians know comes from tomb inscriptions, statues, letters, legal documents, administrative records, and objects placed in burials.

Why Were Egyptian Names Connected to the Gods?

Many ancient Egyptian personal names contained the name of a god or goddess. These are known as theophoric names, meaning names that include or refer to a deity.

Parents might choose such a name to honor a god, ask for divine protection, or express gratitude for the birth of a child.

Examples include:

• Amenhotep, often translated as “Amun is satisfied”
• Ramesses, meaning “Ra has given birth to him” or “born of Ra”
• Thutmose, meaning “born of Thoth”
• Ptahhotep, meaning “Ptah is satisfied”
• Seti, meaning “one belonging to Set”
• Padi-Bastet, meaning “he whom Bastet has given”

The Metropolitan Museum of Art notes that Egyptian names beginning with Padi, meaning “the one whom [a deity] has given,” became especially common during the Third Intermediate Period and later. Such names could invoke the protection of a particular god or goddess.

Naming customs could also vary by region. Evidence from Egyptian writings indicates that parents often named children after the most important deity worshipped in their city or local area.

This means a town where Amun was especially important might contain many people with Amun-based names, while a community devoted to Sobek, Ptah, or Bastet might favor names connected with those deities.

Did Egyptian Women Have Last Names?

Ancient Egyptian women did not normally use hereditary last names either.

Like men, women could be identified by their personal names, titles, occupations, parents, husbands, children, or other family relationships.

A woman might be described as:

• Daughter of a named father
• Daughter of a named mother
• Wife of a particular man
• Mother of a particular child
• Singer of Amun
• Mistress of the house
• Priestess or temple servant

Women’s names frequently appeared in tombs, funerary inscriptions, marriage documents, property records, and religious objects. In some cases, a mother’s name was used to identify a person even when the father was not mentioned.

A British Museum stela belonging to a woman named Tjaiemhotep records her title, personal name, and mother’s name.

This is another reminder that Egyptian identity was not expressed through a single universal naming formula.

Did Pharaohs Have Last Names?

Egyptian kings did not have last names, although their names can look complicated to modern readers.

A pharaoh possessed a formal royal titulary comprising several names and titles. By the Middle Kingdom, this had developed into the traditional set known as the five great names:

1. Horus name
2. Two Ladies name
3. Golden Horus name
4. Throne name
5. Birth name

The king’s throne name and birth name were commonly written inside oval frames called cartouches.

For example, Ramesses II’s birth name was Ramesses, while his throne name was Usermaatre-setepenre. These were separate royal names, not a first name and last name.

Titles such as “King of Upper and Lower Egypt” and “Son of Ra” were also placed before royal names. An inscribed sistrum belonging to King Teti preserves his royal names, calling him “King of Upper and Lower Egypt” and “Son of Re.”

The Roman numerals used in names such as Ramesses II, Ramesses III, Amenhotep II, or Thutmose III are modern historical labels. Ancient Egyptians did not call Ramesses II “Ramesses the Second” in ordinary royal inscriptions. Egyptologists added the numbers to distinguish rulers who shared the same name.

Were Royal Names Passed From Father to Son?

Some royal names were reused across generations, but they were not family surnames. A king might choose the name of an earlier ruler to emphasize continuity, legitimacy, or devotion to a particular god. The repeated use of names such as Ramesses, Amenhotep, Thutmose, and Ptolemy can make them seem like family names.

However, each was still an individual royal name.

Ramesses III was not using “Ramesses” as a surname inherited from Ramesses II. He adopted the name as part of his royal identity, probably to associate his reign with the celebrated kings of the earlier Ramesside period.

The same applies to kings whose throne names contained recurring religious elements such as Ra, Amun, or Ma’at. Those divine references expressed religious and political ideas rather than membership in a modern-style surname group.

How Were Ancient Egyptian Names Chosen?

Parents probably selected children’s names for many of the same reasons that people choose names today.

A name might:

• Honor a god
• Remember a relative
• Celebrate a royal event
• Express hope for the child
• Describe the circumstances of birth
• Ask for divine protection
• Express gratitude
• Reflect local religious traditions

Some names were complete statements. They could mean things such as:

• Amun is satisfied
• Ra has given birth to him
• The god is gracious
• Ptah is in peace
• The moon has appeared
• The goddess has given him

Names were therefore more than simple labels. They could express a family’s religious beliefs and hopes for the child’s future.

Imhotep’s Name in Hieroglyphs

We know the names of many royals, but what about the regular Egyptians? I thought you might like to know about some other notable Egyptians (who weren’t royals).

• Imhotep: Architect, priest, physician, and adviser credited with designing Djoser’s Step Pyramid.
• Hemiunu: A high-ranking official traditionally associated with overseeing the construction of the Great Pyramid.
• Ptahhotep: Old Kingdom vizier connected with The Maxims of Ptahhotep.
• Mereruka: Vizier whose large decorated mastaba stands at Saqqara.
• Ti: Fifth Dynasty official known for his richly decorated tomb at Saqqara.
• Kagemni: Vizier and official associated with wisdom literature.
• Weni the Elder: Court official, judge, governor, and military commander of the Sixth Dynasty.
• Uni: Another common rendering of Weni, often referenced through his autobiographical inscription.
• Heqanakht: Middle Kingdom landowner known through a collection of surviving letters.
• Senenmut: Architect, administrator, and close official of Hatshepsut.
• Rekhmire: Vizier under Thutmose III and Amenhotep II, famous for his decorated tomb.
• Useramun: Vizier during the reign of Thutmose III.
  Ineni: Architect and official who served several early Eighteenth Dynasty rulers.
• Amenhotep, son of Hapu: Architect, scribe, and adviser who was later worshipped as a divine healer.
• Ramose: Vizier whose tomb documents the artistic transition from Amenhotep III to Akhenaten.
• Maya: Treasurer who helped restore royal burials following the Amarna Period.
• Nakht: Scribe and priest known from his beautifully painted Theban tomb.
• Menna: Scribe and estate official whose tomb contains famous agricultural scenes.
• Hunefer: Royal scribe whose illustrated Book of the Dead is among the best-known surviving examples.
• Yuny: Chief royal scribe and official from Asyut who may also have worked as a physician.

Why Were Names So Important in Ancient Egypt?

Ancient Egyptians believed that a person’s name was an essential part of his or her identity.

Preserving the name helped preserve the memory and continued existence of the deceased. This is one reason names were carved on tomb walls, coffins, statues, stelae, offering tables, and funerary objects.

Family members could say the deceased’s name and present offerings for the individual. As long as the name remained known, the person could continue to be remembered.

Destroying or removing a name could therefore carry serious symbolic meaning. Erasing a person’s name from monuments was not simply vandalism. It could be an attempt to damage that individual’s reputation, memory, or place in the afterlife.

This concern with preserving names is one reason historians know the identities of so many ancient Egyptians, including kings, queens, priests, scribes, soldiers, laborers, artists, merchants, and government officials.

What Is the Difference Between an Egyptian Name and a Surname?

The main difference is inheritance.

A modern surname is normally passed through a family and shared by multiple generations. An ancient Egyptian identifying phrase usually described one particular person.

For example: Padisu, son of Hetepsopdu

Padisu was the man’s personal name. “Son of Hetepsopdu” explained who his father was. It did not function as a hereditary last name. The Metropolitan Museum records this wording on a statue dedicated to Imhotep.

Similarly, a priest’s name and title could identify his occupation, while his parents’ names established his family background. None of those elements necessarily became a surname that his children inherited.

Frequently Asked Questions About Ancient Egyptian Last Names

What were common ancient Egyptian last names?

There were no standard ancient Egyptian last names in the modern sense. Names sometimes mistaken for surnames are usually the names of parents, gods, occupations, titles, or places.

Did ancient Egyptians take their father’s name?

They sometimes identified themselves as the son or daughter of a named parent. This was a patronymic description, not a hereditary surname.

Did ancient Egyptian wives take their husband’s name?

There is no evidence of a universal custom in which women replaced their own names with their husbands’ names. Women generally retained their personal identities and could be identified through their own names, titles, parents, spouses, or children.

Was a priestly title an Egyptian last name?

No. A title such as priest, scribe, or overseer described a person’s office. It did not normally become a permanent surname for that person’s descendants.

Why do pharaohs have numbers after their names?

Numbers such as the “II” in Ramesses II were added by modern historians to distinguish rulers who had the same name. The numbers were not part of the kings’ ancient Egyptian names.

So, how did ancient Egyptians choose their last names?

They did not choose last names because hereditary surnames were not normally part of ancient Egyptian naming customs.

Instead, most people had a personal name and could be identified more precisely by their parents’ names, profession, religious office, social title, nickname, or place of origin. Pharaohs used an even more elaborate system of royal names and titles, but these were not surnames either.

Ancient Egyptian naming practices were different from ours, but they were far from simple. A name could reveal a person’s family, occupation, social standing, hometown, religious devotion, and hopes for divine protection.

For the ancient Egyptians, a name was not merely something people called you. It was an important part of who you were, both in life and after death.