An Interview with Professional Nameologist & Intuitive Maryanna Korwitts

A former teacher with a background in both education and psychology, nameologist Maryanna Korwitts is the author of several books including Name Power 101, Addresses Count and Cycles Count. She appears regularly on radio shows and TV shows throughout the United States and Canada. Appearances on ABC Nightline, The Today Show and FOX News featured Maryanna's work as did articles in The Wall Street Journal, The NY Times, Chicago Magazine, The Chicago Tribune and The London Times. Maryanna lectures and conducts name-therapy workshops and seminars. In addition, she offers one-on-one intuitive sessions on names, cycles and birthdate influences, helping people better understand themselves, their life patterns and their relationships. Maryanna has been a life-long Midwesterner. She currently resides in the Chicago area.


Nameology seems an unusual professional choice. How did you first become interested in nameology?

“I stumbled onto nameology quite by accident. Early on, I followed an extremely traditional career path, receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in Education, doing graduate work in psychology and even becoming certified in art education. Then, after several satisfying years in the classroom (elementary, high school, college), I felt there had to be a way to impact and transform lives to an even greater degree. After all, there I was teaching the basics while my students were struggling with a multitude of personal issues that included lack of focus, communication woes, poor self-image and financial distress. I longed for a tool that could both explain and define the quirks of human behavior while offering a means of affecting real life transformations. I began noticing that kids with the same name were very similar. Scattered Julies were always forgetting and losing things, sensitive Stephanies needed kid-glove treatment, serious Davids were studious. Every September, I would anxiously scan my class list hoping there were no Jeffs, Jasons, Kevins or Tommys because I knew they were bound to be a handful. Much to my amazement, teaching colleagues were noticing the same things with the same names. I knew I was onto something.

How did you become a nameologist?

While I initially followed a traditional career path, my path to becoming a nameologist has been anything but traditional. It involved years of studying past traditions as well as research with present-day people. Unfortunately, the science of nameology has pretty much been lost in the shuffle over the past couple of centuries. So, in order to get in touch with the influence of names, I was faced with the task of studying ancient traditions myself. It soon became evident that there was no coincidence to people with the same name sharing traits. Ancient cultures actually created names purposefully, using names to establish leadership or even changing names to bring about improved health. They understood the energy frequencies of language, and were very careful in how they used their alphabets. For instance, the calligraphic strokes present in our initials produce an energetic effect every time they are rendered. Make an "A" and you will key into your independence, make a "Y" and you'll attract spiritual power from the "heavens"!

Did you ever alter your own name? If you did, how did the change affect your life?

I took a name workshop several years ago and was dumbfounded to learn that many of the traits and tendencies I was struggling with were related to my given name, "Mary Ann". No matter how I had tried to change the pattern, I was always a scattered procrastinator. Anything that had boat-rocking potential was put off, and I had this awful habit of starting ten things at a time and finishing none. Plus, I cared way too much about what people thought. You have no idea how often I agreed with someone or said "yes" just to save someone else' s feelings. And the list goes on! Needless to say, I felt ineffective, depressed and dissatisfied. My shyness equated with verbal paralysis, fears plagued my every thought and I had frequent bouts of agoraphobia. I was thrilled to discover that I could adjust my given name into balance by simply adding an "a" and using "Maryanna". Coincidentally, that's the Slovak spelling - my heritage. Because my last name at the time was very long and unwieldy, I constructed a new last name and made a legal name change. It was one of the best things I've ever done! I am a totally different person.

How did people who know you well - for example, your immediate family - react to your taking a new name?

Ironically enough, a couple of family members still try to call me Mary Ann, hoping they can get away with it. And while my two brothers were never sure what to think about all this, they both eventually asked for help. My oldest brother, frustrated with certain glitches in his life requested a nickname to boost his confidence levels. He began using this new spelling and experienced a turnaround including several positive events, such as winning an important legal battle. Then, much to my surprise, my youngest brother consulted me when naming his youngest child.

Did you consider the principles of nameology in naming your own children?

When I named my three children, I knew nothing about name influence, so all three were given less-than-ideal name spellings and early in life they paid a price for my lack of education. However, all three have since changed their first names - two by altering a couple of letters to fine-tune the given name and one by adopting a totally different name. Just recently, my oldest daughter adopted a new nickname to assist her new goals in life as she begins graduate school.

Just how accurate are names in predicting personality traits?

I've had the opportunity of offering mini-name-profiles during radio interviews to  people all over the world.  On only two occasions was I told the information didn't fit. With one individual, she failed to spell her seemingly common name for me... and a second person later admitted that he goes by a nickname much more frequently than the formal name he provided. To me, such a positive response ratio indicates a very high level of accuracy. It's great to realize that through names, we can objectively assess human behavior. Many years ago I realized there' s not much out there that's objective rather than subjective. Things like Enneagrams, Rorschach tests, etc. depend a great deal on an individual's personal perceptions. Graphoanalysis is accurate and objective but very time-consuming. I found name analysis to be both accurate and objective, operating regardless of a person' s personal perceptions. Even more importantly, it takes just a couple of minutes to assess a name. Thus, names provide the perfect tool when it comes to reading personalities and predicting behavior.

Your work seems to have a very broad scope. You've written books, you conduct workshops and seminars, and you provide one-on-one consultations. What aspect of your career do you enjoy most?

I love doing radio interviews and lectures, but I most enjoy personal consultation sessions. Through "name therapy," it is possible to track individuals' patterns in relationships, jobs, etc. to determine what life lessons and conditions will come their way as long as they use a particular name. Most people go away amazed and thrilled at having a new life plan. Old destructive patterns can be broken. By the way, nameology is so right on, I can't tell you how many times I've been accused of being a psychic!

How is it that you do Intuitive Readings?

Even as a young child, I was always accused of being psychic. I would know things that others simply discounted or didn't see. Finding lost objects was always a snap, and I'd frequently have premonitions that warned of events before they occurred. Through my study of names and birthdate influences, I've discovered that such tools provide even more of a means to access an individual's energy field. Through my intuitive readings I am able to translate much of the confusion that people experience in their lives into valuable information for transformation.

What are your future professional plans?

In addition to this Name Structures website, I also have a specialized site for baby naming at www.babynamingcentral.com and a specialized site for business naming at www.biznamingcentral.com. All of my sites now feature interactive naming labs, available at a subscription fee. I have just completed a book on the influence of address numbers called Addresses Count. This book is available on the Products page of this website. Also just out, is a comprehensive cycle forecast book called Cycles Count. No longer do you have to order a cycle book for each year as all are included in one. I hope to have a match and dating website available by the beginning of 2009. And I am putting together plans to do weekend name workshops across the country.

Suppose I'd like to find out whether my name is having a positive or negative influence on my life. What's the most direct way to do that?

I'd say the best way to get quick and thorough answers is with an intuitive reading. This allows me to converse with you and find out what factors in addition to your name, such as birthdate and time, are in play. I schedule appointments by phone at 800-750-6649. I also provide a name attunement service by e-mail. Through this service, I will evaluate an individual's first, middle and full name offering advice on the best possible form of name to use.