Dream question: why am I hearing my name? (Hearing your name in a dream)

Posted byDelphi EllisPosted inDreamsTags:, , , , , ,

This was a dream question sent to me for answer: If you’d like a chance for your dream question to be answered find out more about the The Dream Download™ here. This topic also features in my book Answers In The Dark: Grief, Sleep and How Dreams Can Help You Heal.

“What about hearing your name called whilst asleep when no one’s around? I’m sure someone shouted my name.”

This is an interesting phenomenon and I hope firstly to reassure you, you’re not alone; many people have shared their experience of this with me. Hearing your name called out in a dream can feel so real you wake up convinced someone is in the room with you.

Some people will find that external noises in their dreams influence their dream content; so if you dream the ‘phone is ringing you may wake up to find it actually is. (This is similar to dreaming someone’s at the door, to find the doorbell going as you “come to”). So if someone is shouting on the street outside your room, it may well have translated as if someone had shouted your name as you wake up. 

But what if that’s not the case and you’re hearing your name and no one’s there? I talk about this in more detail in my book Answers in the Dark. For some people the voice can feel familiar (I explain in the book I’ve had this experience myself, the voice was Irish and I have Irish heritage.) So in some communities, they may translate this as someone from another time and place trying to get your attention. (I also offer some ideas in the book around what you could try, if you think this might be the case). Don’t forget, some cultures around the world consider dreams to be a divine portal that’s offering insight and wisdom – some people consider this to be a ‘side effect’ of astral travelling.

For others, it can be a sense or a presence – similar to that which may be experienced with ‘Old Hag Syndrome’ (what’s now commonly known today as Sleep Paralysis). Or it may accompany a visitation dream.

If you’re disturbed by the experience, you could chat to your doctor about whether stress is playing a part, but you might find that it’s a one-off event. I describe dreams in Answers In The Dark as like a friend trying to give you advice. You don’t always have to take them seriously (just as you might take what some friends say with a pinch of salt!) but if the experience has caught your attention you could try keeping a dream diary if it happens again to see if a pattern is forming. (There’s a template on that in the book too).

Delphi is the author of Answers In The Dark: Grief, Sleep and How Dreams Can Help You Heal, out now on Amazon and Hive.  The Dreams Maven™ is part of the Helping You Sparkle™ portfolio.  You might also like Monday Mojo™.

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The 4 am Mystery: That’s an actual thing by the way. Even before a global health crisis, people found themselves awake in the middle of the night. Answers In The Dark aims to join the dots between sleep, dreams and our mental health, specifically how grief shows up, even if no one has died. 

It explores some of the Big Myths of sleep, offers a Sleep Cycle Repair Kit and tips on how to decode your own dreams. Out now on Amazon and Hive. 

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© Delphi Ellis All rights reserved.

Published by Delphi Ellis

Counsellor, Trauma-Sensitive Trainer, Dreams Luminary and Author of Answers In The Dark: Grief, Sleep and How Dreams Can Help You Heal, out now on Amazon and Hive. Dream Expert as seen on TV. © All rights reserved.

26 thoughts on “Dream question: why am I hearing my name? (Hearing your name in a dream)”

  1. I get woke up by a recurring deep voice shouting my name right in my ear I’ve never heard it and they’re non too pleasant sounding it wakes me up abruptly at 330 every morning for the past week and I have window unit air-conditioned that as soon as I wake up I hear the beeping like buttons being pushed and it gets cut off. I then can’t get it turned back on until much later in the day. Is this something major is this just coincidence am I going crazy what’s up?

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  2. I woke at 6.15 to a voice calling my name, it was a male voice and he called me Chris instead of Christine so I know the voice was familier to me, but not sure who. The voice came from a white tunnel and it was calm and gentle. I wasn’t scared, I felt comfortable, can you tell me what this means, I then woke to the phone ringing but it wasn’t ringing thanks x

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    1. Because this phenomenon is still not yet really understood, I think it’s fair to say that anything is possible. However, it’s also worth thinking about what it was saying and how much stress you’re experiencing at the time. The body speaks in lots of different ways, always in an effort to keep you healthy and safe. Make sure you’re taking care of yourself, managing your stress positively if it’s becoming a problem.

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  4. Tonight I fell asleep and had an awful dream of throwing things at my ex, children’s father, and his girlfriend. Lately I have been stressed and exhausted. Well, right as I was in the midst of this I instantly in my dream was then laying on my bed the same exact way I was sleeping except in my dream I was at the very edge of the bed (laying on my right side and right hand under my head) looking at the floor trying to focus on an object that was laying halfway under the bed sticking out when clear as day my name was softly whispered and the back of my shirt was being tugged. I’m sitting here 40 mins later and can still feel the tugging. It was like someone was calling my name and repeatedly pulling my shirt to wake me up. My name is Jessica and they said Jess for short. It sounded like my mom almost. I was kind of scared, confused on who it could be. Scared because no one could have possibly done this since my kids are 3 months and the other 2 years in cribs. When this happened, the dream went away, I felt one more tug and couldn’t wake up. I heard my name one more time and was stuck in this weird sleep state where I KNEW I had to get up, told myself get the heck up Jess and finally jumped up with my heart racing. During the time of trying to get up all I could see was what I can describe as clear white water. It didn’t ripple but it moved in a way like how back in the day when you had a chanel on tv blocked….back and forth and it didn’t mix. I’m telling you that I would have put down a million dollars someone was in my room with how real the tugging was and my name called.

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    1. Hi Jess, thank you for sharing. These dreams are usually stress related – yours is also an interesting experience and one I would like to explore with you in more detail, if you’re happy to get in touch via https://thedreamsmaven.com/contact The link to the main article on my website is here https://thedreamsmaven.com/2016/05/05/dream-question-why-am-i-hearing-my-name/ which may also be useful. (The lady who prompted that article was called Jessie).

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  5. Pingback: Dream question: Hearing my name? | Delphi Ellis TV Radio and Magazine Dream Expert and Analyst Dream Interpreter Spiritual Teacher and Therapist for Positive Mental Health

  6. I have heard my name been called out 2 times now it’s never happened to me before now the first time I didn’t think nothing of it as I thought I was just dreaming but the second time I was actually waking up and I responded by saying what then I thought I heard my phone ring I checked my phone but there wasn’t any missed calls my name is called out to me twice and very clearly on the second occasion I actually woke up and was alert to the situation is there any explanation for this please

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  8. Only twice has this happened. Once voice said wake up Barbara. Second time voice only said Barbara.Can’t determine male or female.

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  9. Pingback: Dream 6-23-2017: Name Calling | M. J. King Endeavors

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