What is in a name? Perhaps this is a question that numerology can answer. Numerology, is generally regarded as the study of numbers, and their symbolic relevance to our names, our identities. This system of thought takes the letters of our alphabet and converts each of them to numbers. These numbers can be used to analyze the symbolic significance of one's name, and shed light on the personality.

From another perspective, numerology can be applied to birth dates to extract the knowledge of one’s life path, as implicit in one’s date of birth. It can also be reapplied the one’s name over any period of time to make projections into the future. Numerology is an extremely complex and diverse system. From a person's name a numerologist can extract volumes.

Let's take a look:

Following is a number chart based on the letters of our alphabet:

 1       2       3       4       5       6       7       8       9      
 A       B       C       D       E       F       G       H       I      
 J       K       L       M       N       O       P       Q       R      
 S       T       U       V       W       X       Y                      

How does this work? Here's an example:
 
We know that “J” is the tenth letter of the alphabet…right? So, "J = 10". The next step is to separate “10” into its separate digits, as in “1 + 0”... Finally, “1 + 0 = 1”...So, in numerology, “J” has a reduced value of “1”.

Each of the nine digits used in numerology are of symbolic significance. Let’s take a look at some general meanings:
 
1 - Independent, aggressive, self-focused, pioneer, leader.
2 - Cooperation, balance, follower, passive, cautious.
3 - Joy, communication, friendly, childlike, creative.
4 - Practical, serious, disciplined, stable, realistic.
5 - Fun-loving, adventurous, enthusiastic, challenge, adaptability.
6 - Nurturing, creative, loving, service, compassionate.
7 - Spiritual, learned, wise, intuitive, introspective.
8 - Worldly, prominent, power, enterprising, successful.
9 - Artistic, wise, patient, loving, selfless.

Using numerology, a person’s full name can be reduced to a single digit. This variable is called the “expression”, and represents the sum quality inherent in one’s name. There are many other variables that can be extracted from one’s name. The “expression” is just one example of many.
 
Of course, what is explained here is not all-inclusive of what numerology is.
This information represents only the tip of the iceberg.