Expression Number
The Expression Number is calculated from letters: each is assigned a digit from 1 to 9, and the sums are reduced. The full name gives the Expression Number, the vowels give the Soul Urge Number, and the consonants give the Personality Number.
Letter Table
The Russian tradition uses a table in which the letters of the Cyrillic alphabet run in a cycle from 1 to 9 in alphabetical order.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| А | Б | E | Г | Д | Е | Ё | Ж | W |
| И | Й | К | Л | М | Н | О | П | Р |
| N | Т | У | Ф | Х | Ц | Ч | Ш | Щ |
| Ъ | Ы | Ь | Э | S | Я |
The Latin alphabet uses a different table: it has 26 letters and the same cycle from 1 to 9. That is why “Илья” and “Ilya” give different numbers — it isn't a mistake, just two different counting systems.
Three Numbers from One Name
The Expression Number, also simply called the name number, is the sum of all the letters. It is the main one of the three numbers: it describes the abilities a person shows and develops, how they realize themselves in their work and what role they take among people.
Soul Urge Number — the sum of the vowels. It describes inner desires: what a person really wants, even if they don't say it out loud.
Personality Number — the sum of the consonants. This is the outer shell: the way a person carries themselves, the first impression, what others pick up in a five-minute conversation.
A gap between the Soul Urge Number and the Personality Number is read as a gap between what a person wants and what they show. A match is read as wholeness.
Which Name to Enter
It's a contested question, and schools answer it differently.
- Full name as in your passport — how the person is officially registered. This is the main option. The resulting number is sometimes called the “destiny number of the name,” but it is unrelated to the Life Path Number calculated from the date of birth.
- The name people call you — Sasha instead of Alexander. It shows how the person comes across in life.
- With surname and patronymic — an extended version popular in the Russian tradition.
Practical tip: calculate both versions. If they give different numbers, that is informative in itself — it often happens with people whose public image differs from who they are at home.
Frequently asked questions
Does the Expression Number change after marriage?
If you include the surname, yes. Some schools base their interpretation of a name change on exactly this.
Should the letter Ё be counted?
In our table, Ё (the Russian letter “yo”) is a separate letter with a value of 7. Some sources treat it the same as Е.
What about double names and hyphens?
The hyphen is ignored; the letters are added up in sequence.