The Best Guide to Creating Fascinating Egyptian Names

Top 5 Egyptian Goddess Names

Ancient Egyptians have many gods and goddesses in their culture. They try to name most of them, from simple sky and earth, up to unusual things such as drunkenness and milk. Below are the top 5 most popular Egyptian goddess names we’re sure you’ve heard before.

Isis the Goddess of Motherhood

Isis is also known as the “Great Mother” of Egypt, also associated with healing and magic. Being the mother of the land, she is a very important figure in Egyptians’ faith and religious belief. The name Isis has its Greek origin, and the original name from the Egyptian language is Aset. The word Aset directly translates as “Queen of the Throne”, which is why in all hieroglyphics she is depicted wearing a crown-like headdress shaped like a throne. 

Nut the Goddess of the Sky and Heavens

The Egyptian name Nut directly means “sky” in the Ancient Egyptian language. She is also considered the goddess of stars, cosmos, and astronomy. She is also depicted as a huge cow in some hieroglyphics, shaping and covering the sky and heavens with her enormous cow-formed body. Goddess Nut is also believed to be the barrier that separates chaos and the cosmos in the world, and the friend and protector of the dead.

Bastet the Goddess of Protection and Good Health

There are many representations for Bastet aside from protection and good health. Egyptian believes that Bastet is also the goddess of the home, women’s secrets, cats, and fertility. She is often depicted as a humanoid with a cat face or simply a cat. Bastet was first described as a ferocious lioness warrior goddess of the sun. She is believed to be the guide of the dead, and the protector of home and family. Because of this belief, Bastet is one of the most popular deities, with her image and statues commonly seen in an Egyptian home.

The name Bastet was originally interpreted as “Ubaste”, but scholars debate on the actual pronunciation of the words, which lead to a universal agreement to use the name Bastet instead.

Neith the Goddess of Arrows

Goddess Neith is the primary patroness of the city of Sais, found in the Nile Delta. Neith is one of the oldest deities in the Egyptian religion, believed to be worshipped even before the founding of Egyptian dynasties. Several Egyptian queens were named after Neith between 2925 to 2775 BCE. She is often depicted in scripts and hieroglyphics as a woman wearing a red crown with a bow and arrow. 

Sekhmet the Goddess of War

The Egyptian god name “Sekhmet” translates as “She who is powerful”. She is considered the goddess of plague, chaos, and war. According to Egyptian mythology, Sekhmet was designated by god Ra as a weapon to destroy humans for disobedience against his will, and for not living according to the principles of Ma’at. Sekhmet is described as a woman with a lion head and a sun disk. She is considered the other identity or persona of the Egyptian goddess Bastet. Sekhmet is believed to transform into a cat goddess (Bastet) only if she is in her calm state. 

Top 5 Egyptian God Names

Egyptian gods are the counterparts of the Egyptian goddesses in Egyptian religion and mythology. The following are five of the most common Egyptian gods to exist.

Amun the God of Air

Amun is the 8th “primordial” Egyptian deity. Egyptians first associate Amun with creation, and they once believed that Amun is the creator of everything and the universe. The name Amun translates as “hidden” or “invisible” in the Ancient Egyptian language. In Egyptian mythology, the god of air Amun, and the godo f sun Ra, merged into a single deity called Amun-Ra, the father and protector of all Pharaohs. 

Ra the God of the Sun

The Egyptian god Ra is considered the deity of the sun. He is portrayed in scripts as a human with a falcon head, sharing similar characteristics with the god of the sky, Horus. Ra is often associated with the god Atum, with few written scriptures detailing both Atum and Ra as the sun god and creator of life. It is said that in the daytime he becomes Ra, and at sunset he becomes Atum. Therefore, Ra is the morning sun god, while Atum is the evening sun god.

Osiris the Godo f Justice

Osiris is also a “primordial” deity of the Egyptians. He is considered also the godo f fertility, agriculture, and the afterlife. He is the ruler of the Underworld, receiving the souls of the dead guided by Bastet. Osiris is often depicted with green-colored skin, Pharaoh’s beard, and mummy-wrapped legs and lower body. He is also drawn wearing a unique atef crown and holding a crook and flail in both hands. The name Osiris has its Greek origin, and the original Egyptian god’s name is Usir.

Horus the God of War and Sky

Horus is the male equivalent of the sky goddess Nut, although they do not have a shared relationship when it comes to Egyptian mythology. Horus is the son of the Egyptian god Osiris and the goddess Isis. He is considered the god of war and the sky. Horus is more popular with Horus and Seth Myth, where Seth battled Horus for the throne of Ra. The name Horus is the Greek equivalent of the original Egyptian god name Horos.

Sobek the God of the Nile

Sobek is most likely known as the “Crocodile God”, and the lord of wetlands and marshes. He is depicted as a human with a crocodile face, and it is believed that the water of the Nile River is his sweat. The name Sobek is believed to translate as “to impregnate” or “to unite”, which is often associated with his animalistic nature.  Some of the discovered epithets portray Sobek as someone who loves robbery and someone who eats his mate.