History TrueName / Literature

** As the first book, ''Literature/StormFront'', demonstrates, there ''is'' something more stupid than revealing your true name to your enemy: Letting him hear the true name of the demon you just summoned to kill him.

* Creator/CarolBerg's ''Literature/RaiKirah'' series: For Ezzarians their own names are true names, not to be shared lightly, and sharing them is an act of connection and trust. This is because Ezzarian culture is centered around their war with demons, and a demon knowing one's name is dangerous. Someone's name is also needed to help them magically, including for examination. This also means that being required to share one's name in slavery is a major violation.

* ''Literature/SaintessSummonsSkeletons'': Saying or writing the name of a Lord of the Deep doesn't grant any power over him, but it ''will'' get his attention. This usually ends badly for the speaker. However, because of Sofia's [Blessing of the Deep], she can talk about them freely without being harmed. [[spoiler:When she's trapped in a time loop created by one of the Recessed, she tries every possible four-syllable letter combination until she gets a reaction from "Edrazaketh."]]

* ''LightNovel/OthersidePicnic'' vol. 2, file 8, ''Little Bird in a Box'', '' '''Tori''' ''ko is exposed to an urban legend known as a Ko'' '''Tori''' ''bako, left at DS Labs by her missing friend Satsuki. The "Tori" in both names means "bird", and initially it only attacks Toriko.

* ''Literature/TheWanderingInn'': Be very careful to whom you reveal your full name, as a scrying spell allows the user to see the whereabouts of the target, wherever it is, as long as he is aware of the full name.

* Everybody has true names in ''Literature/{{Messenger}}'', and they're given by the psychic Leader. This is a benevolent version as the true names help people discover their purpose in Village (eg. the man now called Mentor becomes a schoolteacher), although they do seem to hold some power as seen when Matty is easily able to rein in his puppy after using its true name.

* In Creator/GlenCook's ''Literature/TheBlackCompany'' series, saying "I name your name, ______" with the person's True Name will strip them of their supernatural powers. Guessing wrong about which ancient wizard you're naming can be hazardous to your health, since using the wrong name means you've revealed your intent to nullify a very powerful being without actually ''doing'' anything. This is also why the most powerful sorcerers in the setting are universally {{Evil Sorcerer}}s. Any magic-user not willing to suppress his true name by [[KillEmAll any means necessary]] will not remain a magic-user for long. The only good wizard of sufficient power in the series is able to do so because, as the result of some peculiarities at the time of his birth, he has no true name, only a nickname.

** Ifrit the jinn needs to hear a person say their name out loud before he can [[YourSoulIsMine eat their spirit]]. [[spoiler:Abhaydatta begins the process of recovering his victims' spirits by whispering their true names in their ears.

* In ''The Changing Land'', by Creator/RogerZelazny, one of the characters is a demon named Melbriniononsadsazzersteldregandishfeltselior. Usually conjurers trying to summon him messed up his name during the summoning and binding ritual - which left the demon free and ready to have fun. Unfortunately for the demon, another character, wizard Baran, was from a land with very complex language - so the name of the demon was quite manageable for Baran.

** Harry's nicknaming could have backfired horribly when he casually calls the archangel Uriel "Uri," and is told in emphatic terms to never do it again. The name Uriel mean "Light of my God", that "-el" part refers to God; and considering [[{{Satan}} the last guy]] who decided to forgo God, there are [[FallenAngel real and scary possible consequences]] if Harry tampered with Uriel's nature, even by accident. Especially considering that other angel whose name prominently features something meaning "light". Uriel tells Harry off and says in no undertain terms not to call him that again, a situation that is very nerve wracking when you have somebody as powerful as an Archangel to browbeat you, and Harry notes to himself that he got such a strong reaction because calling him "Uri" actually frightened the angel. Harry very nervously remarks "Well, aren't you Mister Sunshine?" Uriel considers that statement, and notes the Mr. Sunshine was...acceptable.[[note]]Harry has also been chastised for nicknaming people: names assume identity, and some people ''should not have identity''. It worked out well with [[spoiler: Lash]], but naming [[spoiler: Ivy]] makes her a distinct person, separate from [[spoiler: The Archive]], which allows her to remember and reminisce on the fact that [[spoiler: her mother went mad and killed herself when Ivy was young, scarring Ivy for life, the kind of mental scarring she can normally bury deep down by assuming the identity of The Archive]].[[/note]]

* ''The Devils Of D-Day'' by Creator/GrahamMasterton. The protagonists know that the eponymous thirteen devils can be countered by an angel, but it has to be one specific to them; meaning you have to know their true name. The demon Elmek who's forcing them to release his brethren mocks this as IHaveManyNames. However the seals used to bind the demons have their true name inscribed on them, so when Madeleine breaks each one she calls out it's name as if invoking the demon, enabling her partner to look up the angel concerned and conjure it. Elmek's true name is simply the last name left of the thirteen demons.