English Gematria
English gematria adapts Hebrew gematria to the Latin letters used in English. There is no single English table, so calculators offer several ciphers, and the same word gets a different total in each.
Hebrew has a built-in number for every letter. English does not, so writers have created tables of their own. The result is a family of ciphers that all follow the same method, sum the letter values, but differ in what each letter is worth.
One word, every cipher
Here is the word Wisdom in each English cipher on this site:
| Cipher | A is worth | Z is worth | Wisdom |
|---|---|---|---|
| English Ordinal | 1 | 26 | 83 |
| Reverse Ordinal | 26 | 1 | 79 |
| Reduction (Pythagorean) | 1 | 8 | 29 |
| Reverse Reduction | 8 | 1 | 34 |
| Sumerian (x6) | 6 | 156 | 498 |
| Jewish English | 1 | 800 | 713 |
| Francis Bacon | 1 | 24 | 78 |
| Chaldean | 1 | 7 | 25 |
| Latin (23-letter) | 1 | 23 | 77 |
How to choose a cipher
- Just starting: use simple gematria (English Ordinal). It is easy to check by hand.
- Name numerology: use Reduction (Pythagorean) or Chaldean, which reduce to a single digit.
- Hebrew-style totals: use Jewish English.
- Latin-based totals: use Latin gematria.
- Larger, rarer numbers: use Sumerian (six times Ordinal).
A note on matches
When two phrases share a total in one cipher, it is natural to read meaning into it. Keep in mind that there are only a few hundred common totals, so coincidences are frequent. Gematria is best treated as word play and interpretation, not proof. Our beginner's guide explains how to read a result sensibly.
Ready to try? Type any word into the calculator.