Name in Morse Code

How a name becomes Morse code

Each letter of the name has its own pattern of dots and dashes. A space goes between letters so you can tell where one ends and the next begins. Morse code has no capital letters, so alex and ALEX give the same code.

A single name is one word, so there is no slash inside it. A slash marks the gap between words, which means it goes between a first and a last name: Alex Rivera is .- .-.. . -..- / .-. .. ...- . .-. .-

Here is Alex, letter by letter:

• A: .- (di-dah)
• L: .-.. (di-dah-di-dit)
• E: . (dit)
• X: -..- (dah-di-di-dah)

How long your name is in dots and dashes

Count the marks, not the letters. E and T are a single mark, while 12 letters, such as L, X and Q, take four. Most names come out at 2 to 3 marks per letter. Emma has 4 letters and 7 marks; Christopher has 11 letters and 32 marks.

Hyphens and apostrophes have codes of their own, and they are long. The hyphen in Mary-Jane adds 6 marks (-....-) and the apostrophe in O'Brien adds 6 more (.----.). On jewelry, most people leave them out or use a space. The Morse code punctuation page lists every sign.

Played at the default speed of 20 words per minute, Alex takes about 2 seconds. Press Play to hear yours, or turn it into a Morse code ringtone.

Morse code name necklaces and bracelets

A bead pattern follows the code: one bead per mark, a spacer between letters and a bigger spacer between first and last name. Use a round bead for each dot and a long bead, such as a tube, for each dash. Make the dash clearly longer than the dot, or the two are hard to tell apart.

To count what you need, use the numbers in the lists above. Alex needs 11 mark beads (7 dots and 4 dashes) and 3 spacers between its 4 letters. Alex Rivera needs 26 mark beads, 8 letter spacers and 1 word spacer.

Print the PNG with Letters under the marks on and keep it next to you while you string the beads. If you order from a jeweler or an engraver, send them the file from SVG for print: they can scale it to any size without blurry edges.

Names with accents and names in other scripts

É, Ñ, Ü and a few other letters have codes of their own, so José ends in ..-.. (É) and Muñoz has --.-- (Ñ) in the middle. Other accented letters are sent without the accent: Zoë gives the same code as Zoe. Å and Ø use the codes for À and Ö, so Søren has ---. as its second letter.

A letter the tool can't encode, such as Ł, is left out and listed under the box. Type the closest plain letter instead. The Morse code alphabet shows every letter it knows.

This tool uses International Morse code, which is written in Latin letters. Names in Chinese, Arabic, Cyrillic or other scripts have no code here, so type the name the way it is spelled in Latin letters, for example the spelling on a passport.

Write your name in Morse code: a printable activity

This works for a classroom, a scout meeting or a rainy afternoon at home. Each child gets a sheet with their own name drawn in dots and dashes.

1. Type a child's name, keep Letters under the marks on and set the background to White.
2. Press PNG image and print it. Repeat for each name.
3. Ask the kids to copy their marks with a pencil, saying "dit" for each dot and "dah" for each dash.
4. Have them tap their name on the desk: a quick tap for a dot, a longer press for a dash.
5. For a harder round, turn Letters under the marks off, print a classmate's name, and let them decode it with the alphabet chart.

First name or initials

A first name is easy to recognize and has more to read. Initials are short: AR is .- .-. with only 5 marks, which fits a narrow ring or a small charm.

Leave out the periods. A.R. with periods is 17 marks, because each period is .-.-.- in Morse code. A nickname is another good middle ground.

For a name worn on the skin, see the Morse code tattoo page. To pair a name with a message, try I love you in Morse code.