Names & Natal Charts
In the words of the Notorious B.I.G., ""What's your name? What's your sign?.” Wouldn’t it be cool if they were one and the same?
Like everything else in life, our names can be tied back to our natal charts. It is the way people are first introduced to our identity and the symbol we use to represent us when we’re not there. It was gifted to us, likely by people who care a great deal about us; and it is used, modified and played with by those we call friends, lovers and peers.
Where can we find our name in the natal chart? The Sun is the first culprit when we’re looking for the meaning of our name, which I’ve found can be tied to the sign the Sun is in. The circumstances of our naming, on the other hand, can typically be found in the house placement. The Sun is the source of our identity and sense of self, befitting the role of the ruler of our names.
I also find that our Midheaven may have some influence on our naming as well, since it represents our reputation and legacy. It’s the first thing people will know about us before they even meet us.
I’ll use three celebrity examples (two of them are rather cool in how they’re linked), but I’ll start with myself. My name is:
ANTONIO
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It is the Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish version of the English “Anthony” (often pronounced or spelled “Antony”). It is also a derivative of the name Anton. They all come from the Latin Antonius meaning, “worthy of praise; highly praiseworthy”.
My Sun is in the sign of Capricorn, the sign of status, fame and recognition. My Sun also falls in my twelfth house, conjunct my Ascendant. Praise, especially religious, is something that can fall in the twelfth house. There’s also the interesting twist that the Sun in the twelfth house is often worthy of praise while shunning away from the recognition and responsibility of fame and applause. I have always disliked my first name, so that’s likely some of that twelfth house energy.
My Midheaven is in Scorpio, and I was named for my father’s brother, Michael Anthony. He died around ten years before I was born and Scorpio is often tied to rebirth, death and tragedy. I believe he may have been a Scorpio, as well, but I’m not certain of the fact. The Midheaven is tied to our legacy and since I was a child, I’ve always wanted to name my son, should I have one, “Michael Anthony.” The next one is for one of my faves:
BEYONCÉ
Beyoncé is named for her mother’s maiden name, “Beyincé”, which is also spelled “Boyancé.” All three are basically pronounced the same, more or less, especially when you note their Creole origin and, ultimately, their French origin. Beyoncé’s spelling was actually a clerical error that was made on the birth certificate of Beyoncé’s mother, Celestine Beyincé, and her brother, Skip. The nurse refused to change it, noting that they should “be happy [Black people] got a birth certificate.”
Beyoncé’s Sun is in her eleventh house in the sign of Virgo. This is shockingly representative of a clerical error (something tied to office-oriented, detail-minded Virgo) made due to social norms of the time, an eleventh house issue. I couldn’t find much in the way of “Beyincé’s” etymology, but the circumstances of naming are just as important as the overall meaning.
Her Midheaven is in Cancer, tying her name’s origins directly to her family, her maternal family, specifically. In my research, I did find that the Beyincé family was—well, is— upwardly mobile, working hard to put their children through private school while focusing on the arts. Mars’ placement in her tenth house fits their push toward status and it even explains the weight her name holds today.
Like Bey and her husband, Jay, the next set of names share a marriage, but they also share a name. They are:
Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball
Lucille Désirée Ball and Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Acha III (Desi Arnaz) indeed shared a marriage, a studio, two children, lots of fame, and interestingly enough, they shared a name.
“Désirée” is the “official” (and highly accented) spelling of the name deriving from the French désirée, which means “desired”. It can also be spelled Desirée (perfect amount of accents, in my Francophonic opinion) or Desiree (which is unacceptably unaccented). It actually has a masculine form in “Désiré”.
Now if Désiré went to Italy or the Iberian peninsula, they’d call him Desiderio, which has no accents nor does it need any (looking at you Khloé Kardashian). It comes from the Latin Desiderius which means, “the longed-for” or, synonymously “the desired one”. Look at that! The same name.
Lucy has an eighth house Sun, the eighth house being the house of other’s wants, desires, and needs and your ability to meet them. Lucy’s Leo placement indicates her own longing for fame from childhood and her need to be seen.
Desi’s Sun is in the ninth house, the house that tells us how we long to grow, explore and learn. He is a Pisces Sun, another sign known for longing, but in this case it’s a longing to belong, to end suffering and to establish peace. Desi’s name speaks on his desire for comfort, for adoration and, ultimately, for freedom from his past of pain, forced migration, and family trauma.
Looking at synastry, each of the other’s Suns falls in the other’s second house (Too Convoluted; Didn’t Read: Lucy’s Sun is in Desi’s 2H and Desi’s Sun is in Lucy’s 2H). This is the house of wants, stability, and value: all speaking of their desire or even need for the other.