Write your name in hieroglyphs: the sound rules

There is no official way to write a modern name in hieroglyphs, because the Egyptians never wrote one. What exists is a convention, and it is based on sounds. Spell your name as it is said, not as it is written. Catherine and Katrin sound the same, so they come out the same.

The twenty-four sound signs

Egyptian had twenty-four single-consonant signs, which are the nearest thing to an alphabet. A vulture gives a glottal stop, a reed leaf gives i, a quail chick gives w, a foot gives b, a stool gives p, a horned viper gives f, an owl gives m, water gives n, a mouth gives r, a reed shelter gives h, a coil of rope gives a hard h, a sieve gives kh, a folded cloth gives s, a pool gives sh, a hill gives q, a basket gives k, a jar stand gives g, a bread loaf gives t, a tethering rope gives ch, a hand gives d, and a cobra gives dj. The alphabet page shows each of them with its sound.

No vowels

Egyptian writing left most vowels out, like Hebrew and Arabic. Where a modern name needs a vowel, the usual choice is the reed leaf for i and e, the quail chick for u and o, and the vulture for a. These are approximations, which is why the Desk shows its working and calls the result a modern phonetic rendering.

Letters with no equivalent

C is written as k before a, o and u and as s before e and i. Q is written with the hill sign. X is written as k and s together. V has no sign and is usually written with the foot or the horned viper, depending on how you say it. The letter E at the end of a word, silent in English, is dropped.

The closing sign

An Egyptian name usually ends with a sign that shows what the word is. The Desk can add a seated man or woman. A cartouche is traditionally reserved for kings and queens, so putting yours in one is a modern compliment to yourself, not a historic practice.