Name

For naming monsters, see call.

#name is an extended command, mapped to N (capital N) by default if you are using the number pad option. (On nethack.alt.org and in AceHack, it is mapped to C by default.) You can do two things with #name:

• Name an individual item
• Call a class of items (that is, all the items of that type, such as all steel wands)

Naming items in NetHack can be very helpful for keeping track of items. You can name a class of objects after informally identifying something, or keep reminders so as to not put on that cursed amulet of strangulation.

In some cases, you cannot name the class of things such as artifacts, bags, or gems while blind (You would never recognize another one).

#naming individual items

These are a few reasons to rename an individual item with #name, with an example for each:

• Roleplay (naming your primary weapon "Stinging Blow" because of the amount of damage you can do with it)
• Reminders (naming an item you suspect is cursed)
• Certain artifacts can be generated by naming a weapon of their base class (Sting, Orcrist)
• To keep items from stacking in your inventory, you can name stacks of them differently. This is useful when using confused blessed scrolls of remove curse to generate holy water and unholy water.
• Names of important items are often used to keep notes on games, especially in games played by multiple people (see Robin)
• Naming the Amulet of Yendor will allow you to identify it from all the fakes if you drop it or it gets stolen
• Abusing the artifact naming bug will allow you to identify some specific items
• Individual names will not be forgotten
• Autopickup exceptions can match on individual item name
• Intrinsics: naming an object that you're likely to keep for a while with the names of intrinsics you have. Example: "N – A lizard corpse named awake, cold, fast, hot"

#naming a class of items

Naming a class of items is also often referred to as "calling" the items, based on the different prompt the game gives when naming a class, or "type-naming" something.

Identified items will not display their class's name, but it can still be viewed using the discoveries command.

As with naming individual items, there are multiple reasons to name an entire object class:

• Keep track of the possibilities for items you find after applying various object identification tests, such as engrave testing.
• Prior to NetHack 3.6.0, naming a scroll or spellbook will let you write items of that type with a magic marker as though it were identified. Obviously you also have to actually know what that type is, or have named all scrolls or books in that price group so it can be written successfully no matter which of those it happens to be.
• Throwing class-named gems to a unicorn gives a larger Luck bonus than unnamed gems.
• Some classes of items can not be named in this way, notably weapons and comestibles.
• Seeing the difference between items which look the same, for example to know what gray stone you just found. If you already called touchstones, luckstones and flint stones, you can avoid loadstones more easily.
• Autopickup exceptions can match on what an object class is called.

Removing a name

To remove the name given to an object or class of objects, enter a name that consists only of spaces. If you press enter at the name prompt without typing anything at all, it is treated as canceling the naming attempt, and the object will keep its previous name.

SLASH'EM

In SLASH'EM, in addition to #naming Sting and Orcrist, you can also give the name "Elfrist" to an orcish spear.

This page may need to be updated for the current version of NetHack.

It may contain text specific to NetHack 3.4.3. Information on this page may be out of date.

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