--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: True names,” said September wonderingly…" description: "\"True names,” said September wonderingly. “These are all true names. Like, when your parents call you to dinner and you don’t come and they call again b..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/914/catherynne-m-valente-375_dinner_true-names-said-september-wonderingly-th_511332.png" --- # True names,” said September wonderingly. “These are all… ![“True names,” said September wonderingly. “These are all true names. Like, when your parents call you to dinner and you don’t come and they call again but you still don’t come, and they call you by all your names together, and then, of course, you have to come, and right quick. Because true names…” quote by Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/914/catherynne-m-valente-375_dinner_true-names-said-september-wonderingly-th_511332.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/914/catherynne-m-valente-375_dinner_true-names-said-september-wonderingly-th_511332.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/914/catherynne-m-valente-375_dinner_true-names-said-september-wonderingly-th_511332.png) > “True names,” said September wonderingly. “These are all true names. Like, when your parents call you to dinner and you don’t come and they call again but you still don’t come, and they call you by all your names together, and then, of course, you have to come, and right quick. Because true names have power, like Lye said. But I never told anyone my true name. The Green Wind told me not to. I didn’t understand what he meant, but I do now.” [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True names hold power; revealing them can summon consequences, so they are guarded. **In simple terms:** Names are powerful secrets. Key Takeaway Guard your true identity. Themes identity power secrecy trust Mood mysterious thought‑provoking Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - conflict resolution - self‑discovery - protective relationships Key Concepts naming magical realism personal agency Questions to Reflect On - What would happen if you disclosed your true name? - Who decides which names are true? A Different Perspective Revealing a true name may expose vulnerability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dinner/) [Parent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parent/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [September](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/september/) [Wind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wind/) ## Related quotes > [At present our only true names are nicknames.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/at-present-our-only-true-names-are-nicknames/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“For true names in the mouth of an enemy have power.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-danley/for-true-names-in-the-mouth-of-an-enemy-have-power/) [Kate Danley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-danley/) > [“It’s true most superheroes have funny names. But they have to come up with these names by themselves. Think about how hard it is.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-kaufman/it-s-true-most-superheroes-have-funny-names-but-they-have-to-come-up/) [Andrew Kaufman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-kaufman/) > [Names come and names go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/names-come-and-names-go/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Names and attributes must be accommodated to the essence of things, and not the essence to the names, since things come first and names…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/names-and-attributes-must-be-accommodated-to-the-essence-of-things/) [Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/) > [When we walked out of that hospital, we had a birth certificate with our names on it that said: 'Father one and father two,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dustin-lance-black/when-we-walked-out-of-that-hospital-we-had-a-birth-certificate-with/) [Dustin Lance Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dustin-lance-black/) > [Words have meaning and names have power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/words-have-meaning-and-names-have-power/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Before you can kill a demon, you have to be able to say it's name. Names have power. While the word Alzheimer's terrorizes us,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/before-you-can-kill-a-demon-you-have-to-be-able-to-say-it-s-name/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [First rule of magic: Don't let anyone know your real name. Names have power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/first-rule-of-magic-don-t-let-anyone-know-your-real-name-names-have/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Tell me who you are. You need not tell me your name. Names have power, even human ones. Tell me where you live and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/tell-me-who-you-are-you-need-not-tell-me-your-name-names-have-power/) [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) > [“I didn't know unicorns had names," I said. "I didn't know they ever loved people." "They don't. Only this one." 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"Men are no good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/when-i-saw-him-i-thought-i-could-curl-up-inside-him-and-go-to-sleep/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [We all just keep moving, September. We keep moving until we stop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/we-all-just-keep-moving-september-we-keep-moving-until-we-stop/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“You couldn't ever really fix a sad story. You could only make another. And another. And another, until you found the right one at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/you-couldn-t-ever-really-fix-a-sad-story-you-could-only-make-another/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“He considers it for a moment and spits out the seeds, which sprout, quickly, into tiny junkblossoms sizzling with recursive algorithms. 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Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [We all live inside the terrible engine of authority, and it grinds and shrieks and burns so that no one will say: lines on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/we-all-live-inside-the-terrible-engine-of-authority-and-it-grinds-and/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [Her heart was bruised by the kiss, smashed and surprised and unsettled by it. September thought kisses were all nice, sweet things asked for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/her-heart-was-bruised-by-the-kiss-smashed-and-surprised-and-unsettled/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“September put her hand on the grip of the Rivet Gun. She’d only just gotten it, and she’d promised to take copious notes for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/september-put-her-hand-on-the-grip-of-the-rivet-gun-she-d-only-just/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [Just tell yourself a story that'll satisfy you and pretend he told it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/just-tell-yourself-a-story-that-ll-satisfy-you-and-pretend-he-told-it/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“You see, the future is a kind of stew, a soup, a vichyssoise of the present and the past. That's how you get the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/you-see-the-future-is-a-kind-of-stew-a-soup-a-vichyssoise-of-the/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [Fairy tales have always been about getting through the worst of everything, the darkest and the deepest and the bloodiest of events. They are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/fairy-tales-have-always-been-about-getting-through-the-worst-of/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“There is a place, September, oh, very far from Pandemonium. A place where it is always autumn, where there is always cider and pumpkin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/there-is-a-place-september-oh-very-far-from-pandemonium-a-place-where/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“I was happy, the sun was high. I had enough.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/i-was-happy-the-sun-was-high-i-had-enough/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [Who are you?" "I am Death," said the creature. "I thought that was obvious." "But you're so small!" "Only because you are small. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/who-are-you-i-am-death-said-the-creature-i-thought-that-was-obvious/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) [Explore all 621 Catherynne M. Valente quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) ## More Dinner quotes > [The language we share is at the core of our identity as citizens, and our ticket to full participation in American political life. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-i-hayakawa/the-language-we-share-is-at-the-core-of-our-identity-as-citizens-and/) [S. I. Hayakawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-i-hayakawa/) > [My dinners have never interfered with my business. They have been my recreation. . . 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Only the very wealthy had a separate dining room.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/back-in-the-really-olden-days-dinner-was-seldom-a-ceremonial-event/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) > [ Music \[is\] the third rail of life. You grabbed it to shock yourself out of the dull drag of hours. To feel something. To… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-hill/music-is-the-third-rail-of-life-you-grabbed-it-to-shock-yourself-out/) [Joe Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-hill/) > [Sonny Von Bulow, who said to her husband Claus on their honeymoon, Stop needling me. Never got a dinner!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/red-buttons/sonny-von-bulow-who-said-to-her-husband-claus-on-their-honeymoon-stop/) [Red Buttons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/red-buttons/) > [Remember, sex is like a Chinese dinner. 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Who wants to have dinner with the same old easy listening music sounding friends all the time?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilton-als/challenging-is-good-like-good-conversation-yes-who-wants-to-have/) [Hilton Als](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilton-als/) > [Once, as an experiment, I travelled around the world with a single suit. Before I left, I went to a tailor in Savile Row…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-hamilton/once-as-an-experiment-i-travelled-around-the-world-with-a-single-suit/) [George Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-hamilton/) > [I like to be bought flowers and taken out for dinner. I like a man to be a gentleman. I don't like to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-stone/i-like-to-be-bought-flowers-and-taken-out-for-dinner-i-like-a-man-to/) [Sharon Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-stone/) > [Why should the Marquis de Cussy wage war on soup? I cannot understand a dinner without it. I hold soup to be the well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-antoine-careme/why-should-the-marquis-de-cussy-wage-war-on-soup-i-cannot-understand/) [Marie-Antoine Careme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-antoine-careme/) > [Helvetica is the jeans, and Univers the dinner jacket. Helvetica is here to stay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-frutiger/helvetica-is-the-jeans-and-univers-the-dinner-jacket-helvetica-is/) [Adrian Frutiger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-frutiger/) [Browse all 2,901 Dinner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dinner/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "True names,” said September wonderingly. “These are all true names. Like, when your parents call you to dinner and you don’t come and they call again but you still don’t come, and they call you by all your names together, and then, of course, you have to come, and right quick. Because true names have power, like Lye said. 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