Abstract
Names and naming practices have been the focus of social science research for several years. Our
name, as part of our identity, shapes and defines our sense of self. When clients start psychotherapy
they first introduce themselves by giving their names. Sometimes they speak the names of their
parents and grandparents. This speaking of the collective intergenerational familial names is termed
‘speaking the names’. This article set out to explore and describe the experience of clients in
psychoanalytic therapy of ‘speaking the names’. The methodological approach is phenomenological
with a focus on experience as a legitimate unit of investigation. Transcripts of sessions with clients
are analysed using thematic analysis. The main exploratory findings are that ‘speaking the names’
is a significant psychological event and it can be understood as; 1) ‘speaking one’s place’ within the
family, 2) ‘speaking the hope’ of the family, 3) ‘speaking its lived meaning’ when the meaning of
their name is unknown but appears to be lived unconsciously, and 4) ‘speaking a lost connection’
when the familial names are unknown.