In the world of Earthsea, names are very important. Every object has its name in the Old Speech (language of dragons). This is also why wizards do not use their truenames in public, instead they use so called use-names.
In order to use magic to manipulate the reality, one has to know names of all things in the Old Speech. For instance, to make animals obey, one needs to apostrophize to them in the Old Speech.
Technically, people in the Archipelago have three names:
- the childhood name, given to them after birth;
- the true name, given during the Passage Into Manhood ritual, it is a word in the Old Speech;
- use-name, which is basically a nickname.
Due to cultural differences, Kargs have only one name, which is just a word in Kargish (thus it has no magical power of the Old Speech).