Love Calculator by Name

The percentage is not a random number. It comes from the old paper method often called the LOVES method, and the tool shows its work so you can check it yourself. Here it is with the names Anna and Leo:

1. Write both names together: annaleo.
2. Count how many times each letter of the word LOVES appears in that string. L appears once, O once, V never, E once, S never. That gives you five numbers: 1 1 0 1 0.
3. Add each pair of neighbors and keep only the last digit of each sum. 1+1=2, 1+0=1, 0+1=1, 1+0=1. The row is now 2 1 1 1.
4. Do it again. 2+1=3, 1+1=2, 1+1=2. The row is 3 2 2.
5. Again: 3+2=5, 2+2=4. You have two digits left, 5 and 4.
6. Read them together. Anna and Leo get 54%.

Because nothing in the process is random, the same two names always give the same result.

You don't need our tool for this. It works with a pen, a scrap of paper and a friend, which is how it spread in school notebooks long before the web.

1. Write the two names side by side and join them into one long word.
2. Make a small table with the letters L, O, V, E and S, and tally how often each one shows up.
3. Write the five tallies in a row.
4. Under the row, write the sums of each neighboring pair, dropping any tens digit (7+8 becomes 5, not 15).
5. Repeat on each new row until only two digits remain.
6. Those two digits are your percentage. Two zeros, if you ever get them, count as 0%, and a result that starts with a zero, like 07, is just 7%.

Try it with a friend, compare answers, then enter the same names in the calculator above. The numbers should match. If they don't, one of you dropped a tens digit.

FLAMES is the other classic name game, and the calculator plays it for you alongside the percentage.

1. Write both names and cross out the letters they share, one for one. If a letter appears twice in one name and once in the other, only one pair gets crossed out.
2. Count the letters that are left. Call that number N.
3. Write the word FLAMES. Starting at F, count around the word N places, and cross out the letter where you land.
4. Start counting again from the next letter that is still standing, skipping crossed-out ones, and keep going until one letter remains.

That last letter is your result:

• F is Friends
• L is Lovers
• A is Affection
• M is Marriage
• E is Enemies
• S is Siblings

The tool shows which letter is left at the end. Getting E is the funniest outcome and says nothing about anyone.

You will find this game under many names: crush calculator, secret crush calculator, true love calculator, soulmate calculator, love calculator by percentage. Most of them run on some version of the same idea, turning two names into a number. They are fun to play at a sleepover or just to see what comes up. None of them knows anything about the two people.

If you want a match that is based on something real, like your birthdays and your signs, use our compatibility test. It compares how your sun signs sit on the zodiac wheel and can go deeper into your full birth charts. And if you are curious what your names add up to in numerology, try the numerology calculator.

Letters in a name have nothing to do with how two people get along. A low percentage doesn't mean you should give up on someone, and a high one doesn't mean you should start planning the wedding. Real compatibility comes from how you talk, what you value, and how you treat each other. Treat this as a game, and let the results start a conversation. For entertainment purposes only.