Simple Gematria: The Complete Guide to the A=1 to Z=26 System

Simple gematria — also called English Ordinal gematria — is the most widely used English gematria system. It assigns each letter of the alphabet its ordinal position: A equals 1, B equals 2, C equals 3, and so on through to Z equals 26. The value of any word is the sum of its letters'' positions. Simple, transparent, and easy to verify, it is the natural starting point for anyone new to English gematria.

The Complete Simple Gematria Chart (A–Z)

• A=1  |  B=2  |  C=3  |  D=4  |  E=5  |  F=6  |  G=7  |  H=8  |  I=9
• J=10  |  K=11  |  L=12  |  M=13  |  N=14  |  O=15  |  P=16  |  Q=17  |  R=18
• S=19  |  T=20  |  U=21  |  V=22  |  W=23  |  X=24  |  Y=25  |  Z=26

How to Calculate: Worked Examples

Add the value of each letter in the word:

• LOVE = L(12) + O(15) + V(22) + E(5) = 54
• GOD = G(7) + O(15) + D(4) = 26
• LIFE = L(12) + I(9) + F(6) + E(5) = 32
• TRUTH = T(20) + R(18) + U(21) + T(20) + H(8) = 87
• PEACE = P(16) + E(5) + A(1) + C(3) + E(5) = 30
• WISDOM = W(23) + I(9) + S(19) + D(4) + O(15) + M(13) = 83

Notable Simple Gematria Values

Certain values recur across words that many practitioners find meaningfully connected:

• 26: GOD — the same value as YHWH (יהוה) in Hebrew Standard gematria. Many see this as a cross-linguistic confirmation.
• 54: LOVE — and also the reverse gematria value of LOVE (a symmetric word in both systems).
• 33: AMEN — also the age traditionally associated with Christ at crucifixion and the value of several spiritual terms.
• 74: GEMATRIA itself — G(7)+E(5)+M(13)+A(1)+T(20)+R(18)+I(9)+A(1) = 74.

Simple vs. Other English Systems

Simple gematria is the baseline. Other English systems modify it in specific ways:

• English Reverse counts backwards (Z=1 to A=26).
• English Sumerian multiplies each letter value by 6 (A=6, B=12 … Z=156).
• Pythagorean reduces the Simple total to a single digit by summing its digits.

When people say "gematria calculator" without specifying a system, they usually mean Simple (Ordinal) by default.

Practical Tips

• Only count letters — spaces, punctuation, and numbers are ignored.
• Case does not matter: "love" and "LOVE" produce the same value.
• To check a phrase, sum each word separately first, then add the totals — or sum all letters at once. The result is the same either way.

Use the Calculator

The Gematria Guru calculator computes Simple gematria (along with all other systems) automatically as you type. You can also visit the online gematria calculator page or the dedicated English gematria calculator for more detail on English systems.