“We have gained no consensus as to whether we can even speak of ‘the’ name of God, and if so, what that name might be.”​—Professor David Cunningham, Theological Studies.

God said: “I am Jehovah. That is my name.” (Isaiah 42:8) Jehovah is a Hebrew name that means “He Causes to Become.”​—Genesis 2:4, footnote.

Jehovah wants us to use his name. “Call upon his name,” states the Bible. “Make known among the peoples his dealings. Make mention that his name is put on high.”​—Isaiah 12:4.

Jesus used God’s name. In prayer, Jesus told Jehovah: “I have made your name known to them [Jesus’ disciples] and will make it known.” Why did Jesus make the divine name known to his disciples? He continued: “In order that the love with which you [God] loved me may be in them and I in union with them.”​—John 17:26.

“A man who does not know God by name does not really know him as a person,” wrote theologian Walter Lowrie, “and he cannot love him, if he knows him only as an impersonal force.”

A man named Victor attended church weekly, but he did not feel that he really knew God. “Then I learned that God’s name is Jehovah, and it was like an official introduction to him,” he says. “I felt as though I had finally met the One about whom I had heard so much. I came to see him as a real Person and to develop a friendship with him.”

Jehovah, in turn, draws close to humans who use his name. Regarding “those thinking upon his name,” God promises: “I will show compassion upon them, just as a man shows compassion upon his son who is serving him.” (Malachi 3:16, 17) God also rewards those who call upon his name. The Bible says: “Everyone who calls on the name of Jehovah will be saved.”​—Romans 10:13.