In Ancient Egypt, names were very important, in this life and the next. Gods had a multitude of names, and kings were usually given five names, but also private individuals could have several names, given at birth or later. One of these names was called rn nfr (the good name), and it was especially prevalent during the Old Kingdom. The term rn nfr slowly disappeared during the First Intermediate Period and the Middle Kingdom, but reappeared during the Late Period.The characteristics of all occurrences that could be found of rn nfr from the Old Kingdom and the First Intermediate Period and the Middle Kingdom were studied and compared to the occurrences of rn nfr in the Late Period. They were also compared to the first names of the individuals who wore these rn nfr.The results of this investigation show that there are great differences between the earlier periods and the Late Period, especially in that the names of gods and kings are often prevalent in the rather long rn nfr of the Late Period, possibly used for official and religious purposes. The rn nfr of earlier periods are often short names, which people were probably called, on an everyday basis. They sometimes constitute abbreviations of first names, with phonological changes taking place, in the majority of cases only consisting of three consonants without any apparent meaning, perhaps used from a very early age, and in a few cases taking on the characteristics of true nicknames.