Numerology Systems Compared
Last reviewed · Free to reuse with attribution (CC BY 4.0)
A side-by-side comparison of the Pythagorean (Western) and Chaldean letter values for every letter A to Z, showing exactly where the two systems agree and differ.
The two most common letter-based numerology systems, Pythagorean (the modern Western method) and Chaldean (the older, Cheiro method), often give a name a different number because they map the alphabet differently. Pythagorean simply counts A=1, B=2 up to I=9 and repeats; Chaldean assigns 1 to 8 by sound and never uses 9. The table below puts both side by side for every letter.
The two systems agree on 10 of the 26 letters and differ on 16 (the differing rows are highlighted).
| Letter | Pythagorean | Chaldean | |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 1 | 1 | same |
| B | 2 | 2 | same |
| C | 3 | 3 | same |
| D | 4 | 4 | same |
| E | 5 | 5 | same |
| F | 6 | 8 | differs |
| G | 7 | 3 | differs |
| H | 8 | 5 | differs |
| I | 9 | 1 | differs |
| J | 1 | 1 | same |
| K | 2 | 2 | same |
| L | 3 | 3 | same |
| M | 4 | 4 | same |
| N | 5 | 5 | same |
| O | 6 | 7 | differs |
| P | 7 | 8 | differs |
| Q | 8 | 1 | differs |
| R | 9 | 2 | differs |
| S | 1 | 3 | differs |
| T | 2 | 4 | differs |
| U | 3 | 6 | differs |
| V | 4 | 6 | differs |
| W | 5 | 6 | differs |
| X | 6 | 5 | differs |
| Y | 7 | 1 | differs |
| Z | 8 | 7 | differs |
How to read it
- Pythagorean reduces every total, including the letter values, on a 1 to 9 cycle.
- Chaldean keeps 9 aside and reads compound (two-digit) totals for their own meaning.
- Because the maps differ, the same name can carry two different core numbers; practitioners usually pick one system and stay with it.
Cite this page
This table is published under a Creative Commons BY 4.0 license. You are free to reproduce it, including in AI and print, as long as you credit NumroQ with a link to this page.
NumroQ. "Numerology Systems Compared." NumroQ, 2026, https://numroq.com/reference/numerology-systems-comparison.
Or link with: <a href="https://numroq.com/reference/numerology-systems-comparison">Numerology Systems Compared – NumroQ</a>
Want to compute values automatically? Use the Abjad calculator to add up any word or name.