Basics

Chaldean numerology explained

Chaldean numerology is the letter system that gives letters values from 1 to 8, never 9. Indian numerology uses it to find the name number. A name's letter values are added, then the digits of the total are added down to one. John Doe adds up to 34, and 3 plus 4 gives 7.

Updated Oct 28, 2026

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Chaldean numerology: how the API works it out

The API reads every Indian name number in the Chaldean system by default. Each letter has a fixed value. A, I, J, Q and Y are 1.

B, K and R are 2. C, G, L and S are 3. D, M and T are 4.

E, H, N and X are 5. U, V and W are 6. O and Z are 7, and F and P are 8.

No letter is 9. That is part of the system, not a gap in the table. The API adds the values of every letter.

Then it adds the digits of the total until one digit is left. Take John Doe. John gives 18 and Doe gives 16, so the total is 34.

Then 3 plus 4 is 7, a number ruled by Ketu. Each word also comes back on its own in words, because the first name is often read alone. POST /v1/name returns the Chaldean total, number and master flag for each spelling you send.

The master flag is true when the total passes through 11, 22 or 33. Each spelling also gets a fit, which says how well it suits the person. POST /v1/profile returns the same count under name_number.chaldean, with a short reading.

Business names and baby names use this table too, on POST /v1/business and POST /v1/baby-names. The Pythagorean result comes back beside the Chaldean one, labelled, and it is not read. The two systems are never mixed in one number.

Names must be in English letters, A to Z. Another script is refused, because the spelling changes the number.

The Chaldean letter values, with no letter worth 9, follow the table in Cheiro's Book of Numbers (1926).

Get it from the API

Name checker. Here is the call to the Numerology API from API for Astrology (apiforastrology.com) for our sample, John Doe, born Aug 15, 1990, with two other spellings.

POST /v1/name

# John Doe, born Aug 15, 1990, with two other spellings
curl -X POST "https://apiforastrology.com/api/numerology/v1/name" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ASTROLOGY_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name":"John Doe","birth_date":"1990-08-15","variants":["Jon Doe","John Dow"]}'

Answer (long lists shortened)200 OK

{
  "person": {
    "birth_date": "1990-08-15",
    "mulank": 6,
    "bhagyank": 6
  },
  "system": "chaldean",
  "about": "A name is read from its letters.",
  "spellings": [
    {
      "name": "John Doe",
      "chaldean": {
        "total": 34,
        "compound": 34,
        "number": 7,
        "master": false,
        "words": [
          {
            "word": "John",
            "total": 18,
            "number": 9
          },
          {
            "word": "Doe",
            "total": 16,
            "number": 7
          }
        ]
      },
      "pythagorean": {
        "total": 35,
        "number": 8,
        "master": false
      },
      "planet": "Ketu",
      "planet_name": "Ketu",
      "fit": {
        "number": 7,
        "links": [
          {
            "from": "mulank",
            "from_number": 6,
            "to_number": 7,
            "relation": "neutral",
            "via": [
              "Ketu"
            ],
            "from_name": "mulank",
            "relation_name": "neutral"
          },
          {
            "from": "bhagyank",
            "from_number": 6,
            "to_number": 7,
            "relation": "neutral",
            "via": [
              "Ketu"
            ],
            "from_name": "bhagyank",
            "relation_name": "neutral"
          }
        ],
        "outcome": "neutral",
        "outcome_name": "Neutral",
        "reading": "This number is neutral to your own numbers. It neither helps nor gets in the way much."
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Jon Doe",
      "chaldean": {
        "total": 29,
        "compound": 29,
        "number": 2,
        "master": true,
        "words": [
          {
            "word": "Jon",
            "total": 13,
            "number": 4
          },
          {
            "word": "Doe",
            "total": 16,
            "number": 7
          }
        ]
      },
      "pythagorean": {
        "total": 27,
        "number": 9,
        "master": false
      },
      "planet": "Moon",
      "planet_name": "Moon",
      "fit": {
        "number": 2,
        "links": [
          {
            "from": "mulank",
            "from_number": 6,
            "to_number": 2,
            "relation": "enemy",
            "via": [],
            "from_name": "mulank",
            "relation_name": "unfriendly"
          },
          {
            "from": "bhagyank",
            "from_number": 6,
            "to_number": 2,
            "relation": "enemy",
            "via": [],
            "from_name": "bhagyank",
            "relation_name": "unfriendly"
          }
        ],
        "outcome": "difficult",
        "outcome_name": "Not a good fit",
        "reading": "This number does not get along with your own numbers. It may get in your way more than it helps."
      }
    }
  ],
  "ranked": false,
  "not_claimed": "Numbers describe tendencies, not fixed events. Use them as a guide, not a rule.",
  "localization": {
    "lang": "en",
    "detail": "standard",
    "fell_back_to_en": [],
    "fell_back_to_standard": []
  }
}

Where the API returns it

POST	/v1/name	Name checker
POST	/v1/profile	Core numbers and Lo Shu grid
POST	/v1/business	Business name and launch date
POST	/v1/baby-names	Baby name finder

Feature page: Name checker. Try it free: Name numerology calculator. Both systems compared: Chaldean vs Pythagorean numerology. The rules the API follows are on the conventions page.

Related terms

From the blog

Numerology API

Get these numbers from the API

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Your first answer

John Doe, born Aug 15, 1990

POST /v1/profile200 OK

Mulank6Venus
Bhagyank6Destiny number
Name number7Ketu

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