Names of erê do not come from a ready-made list. The name is born from the relationship between the person, the orixá, and the house, and therefore it changes from terreiro to terreiro.
There is, yes, a rule of formation, and it is different in Candomblé and in Umbanda. Knowing the rule is worth more than memorizing names: with it, you can understand any name you hear in your house.
Names of erê: how they work
No list circulating on the internet is canonical. Each initiated person has their erê, and it is particular. As recorded in the field research by Morena Freitas, in the same center there may be two Pedrinho da Cachoeira and three Mariazinha da Praia, and even so, they are not the same spirit.
Three things follow from that:
- A repeated name is not a repeated spirit. Homonyms exist and are common.
- Not every Child spirit has a surname. Many stay with only the first name.
- A person can have more than one erê. In Candomblé, this is recorded as normal.
On the day of Cosme and Damião, which is when the line appears the most, these names circulate more than on any other date of the year.
Where the name of an erê comes from
They are two distinct rules. Confusing the two is the most common error.
In Candomblé, Ketu and Nagô: the name comes from the orixá of the head. It connects to the characteristics of the orixá that gives passage and usually comes from their nature: tree, flower, leaf, fish, bird. A child of Oxóssi tends to have an erê with a forest name; a daughter of Oxum, with a freshwater name. And the gender of the erê follows the orixá, not the person: in a house accompanied by research, a female iaô of Oxóssi has a male erê.
In Fluminense Umbanda: diminutive plus a place surname. The first name almost always comes in the diminutive, and the surname says to which place and to which spirit that Criança belongs. The map of surnames, in the Freitas field list, is this:
| Last Name | Orixá or energy |
|---|---|
| da Praia, da Beira da Praia, de Iemanjá, do Mar | Iemanjá, salt waters |
| da Cachoeira | Oxum, freshwater |
| da Mata | Oxóssi |
| da Pedreira, de Xangô | Xangô |
| de Iansã (Oya) | Iansã |
| do Oriente | linha do Oriente |
The rule has an exception within the very list that formulates it: "Moisés", "Tinoco" and "Jandirinha" do not follow the pattern. This is honesty from the source, and it is good that it is so. Who these spirits are and how they work is in erês na umbanda.
Names of erê by orixá, with the origin of each one
What follows is not a catalog: these are names registered in specific houses, by published research, with location and date. They serve to show the pattern, not for anyone to adopt.
In ketu Candomblé, gathered in Salvador, Sergipe, and Santo Amaro da Purificação:
| Name | Orixá |
|---|---|
| Espada, General, Capitão | Ogum (Ogun) |
| Princesa da Fonte das Águas Claras, Conchinha | Oxum |
| Flor da Noite | Iansã |
| Caçador, Murici, Bem-te-vi de Oxóssi | Oxóssi |
| Oxê | Xangô |
| Gaivota de Iemanjá, Pérola do mar, Pratinha | Iemanjá |
| Beija-flor de Logun Odé | Logun Odé |
| Pombinho de Oxalá (Obatala) | Oxalá |
In Rio's Umbanda, from the field list heard in giras of various centers:
| Name | Line |
|---|---|
| Sereinha de Iemanjá, Solzinho de Iemanjá, Pedrinho da Praia, Mariazinha da Praia | Iemanjá |
| Pedrinho da Cachoeira, Rosinha da Cachoeira, Ritinha da Cachoeira, Crispim da Cachoeira | Oxum |
| Flechinha da Mata, Folhinha da Mata, Pedrinho da Mata, Caboclinho da Beira da Mata | Oxóssi |
| Rosinha da Pedreira, Estrelinha de Xangô | Xangô |
| Raio de Iansã, Ventinho de Iansã | Iansã |
| Joãozinho, Mariazinha, Ritinha, Jandirinha, Tinoco, Moisés | no surname |
A gap worth declaring: many people look for the name of an erê of Omolu (Omulu), Obaluaê and Oxumarê, and there is no record of these names in open research. Those that circulate come from lists copied between blogs. Here they do not enter. To understand the logic of each orixá, it is worth reading what the orixás are.
Who gives the name of the erê
Almost always, the erê itself. As described in the research published in the magazine DESIDADES, from UFRJ, the name is usually spoken by the spirit itself in the first moment of incorporation, still during the feitura de santo. It also happens that the babalorixá or the ialorixá informs the name to the iaô, and that another spirit does this.
Nothing in the erê is random: the name, the clothes and the instruments that it chooses say where it comes from.
Two practical consequences. The first: there is no way to discover the name of your erê through a test or a list. It comes from the house and the spirit. The second: there are names that are not told. In one of the researches consulted, a researcher records the phrase of an interlocutor: "I am not authorized to say the name of the erê".
If what you want is to understand which line accompanies you, and not the name, the what is your spirit test points to the line. The name, however, is a matter for your house.
Erê in Candomblé and Child in Umbanda
It is not the same thing, and that is why the names do not work the same way.
| Candomblé (ketu, nagô) | Umbanda (Children line) | |
|---|---|---|
| What is it | state linked to the orixá of the initiate, understood as the child quality of the orixá and interpreter of the orixá | spirit of the Children line, also called ibejada |
| When they appear | in the initiation and in various moments of the terreiro | in gira, more linked to festive dates |
| Where the name comes from | from the orixá of the head and its nature | the diminutive plus the place surname |
| How many per person | there can be more than one | each person has their own |
It is worth noting what the research says about erê and Ibeji. In the study of Luis Nicolau Parés, published in Afro-Ásia from UFBA, it is written that, strictly speaking, erê and Ibeji are not related: in the Bahian jeje-nagô tradition, Ibeji do not descend in human bodies. Many houses today work with both things together, and this is a matter of the foundation of each one. The twin orixá has its own entry in who is Ibeji.
The nation also changes the vocabulary. In a jeje house in Maranhão, the female child figure is the tobôssi, with its own lineage, which the research recommends not confusing with the erê state of nagô candomblé. In the angola nation, the Ibeji pair is the inquice Vunji. As summarized by a leader interviewed by Brasil de Fato: "Erê is a child, Ibeji is a child and Ibejada is a child". In the foundation, the research separates the three; in the experience of the houses, they meet.
The names that appear on September 27
Crispim appears on the field list as a Child name, with different surnames: Crispim da Cachoeira and Crispim da Mata. He comes from São Crispim, who with São Crispiniano has its own day on October 25, also celebrated in umbanda terreiro.
Doum appears in two ways: as a Child surname, in the "Doum da Cachoeira" of the Rio de Janeiro list, and as the third figure in the statues of Cosme and Damião. He is not an orixá, and the entire history is in who is Doum.
Already "Cosmim" and "Damiãozinho" circulate a lot in internet lists and have no published record. They are not wrong: they can be living names in a specific house. There is just no research that has collected them, and for that reason they do not enter here as a reference.
Why your house might use another name
Because the name is sealed in the relationship, not in the catalog. Part of what circulates on the internet, in fact, did not come from the congá: it came from the shop. Research shows that statues of erê arrive with labels, "Rosinha", "Pedrinho", which helps those who are starting to choose a piece. The true name is defined later, between the devotee and the spirit.
"It depends on the house" is not evasive here. It is the fact: different houses, different nations, and different leaders name in different ways, and the only correct answer about your erê is the one that comes from your terreiro.
Frequently asked questions
What are the names of the erês?
There is no official list. What research records are names of specific houses, such as Pedrinho da Mata and Sereinha de Iemanjá in Rio's umbanda, or Espada and Conchinha in ketu candomblé. A name repeated in different centers is not the same spirit.
How is an erê's name given?
Almost always it is the erê itself that says the name, in the first spirit incorporation, during the feitura de santo. It also happens that the house leader informs the name to the initiate, or another spirit reveals it.
What is the name of the erê of each orixá?
In candomblé, the name is linked to the head orixá and usually comes from their nature: forest and hunting for Oxóssi, fresh water for Oxum, fire and stone for Xangô. In umbanda, the surname indicates the line: da Praia is Iemanjá, da Cachoeira is Oxum, da Mata is Oxóssi.
Is the erê's name in candomblé the same as the Child's in umbanda?
No. They are distinct traditions and distinct rules. In candomblé the name comes from the head orixá; in umbanda, it is a diminutive plus a place surname. The terms also change: erê is the most used in candomblé, ibejada in umbanda.
Is it possible to discover my erê's name?
Not by test or list. The name comes from the spirit and the house, and there are those who have the name and are not authorized to say it. Those who are starting can speak with the director of the terreiro.
If your house requested material for the Children's table and you were in doubt about what to bring, you can check via the shop's WhatsApp.
References
- FREITAS, Morena B. M. Religião & Sociedade, v. 42, n. 2, 2022. Child's Food: sweets (and) ibejadas of Umbanda
- PARÉS, Luis Nicolau. "The Tobosi triangle". Afro-Ásia, n. 25-26, 2001, UFBA. PDF
- URPIA, Ana Maria de O.; CONCEIÇÃO, Leandro dos Santos. DESIDADES, n. 32, 2022, UFRJ. The state of erê
- FALCÃO, Christiane Rocha. "He was already born made": the place of the child in Candomblé. Master's dissertation, UFPE, 2010.
- WILKER, Lucas. Brasil de Fato, September 25, 2025. Erê, Ibeji and Ibejada
