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The many names of Hoid

Hoid goes by likely countless names throughout the Cosmere and each is a clue to the places he’s been and the people he has interacted with.

Tom

11 Feb 2025 • 5 min read

Official artwork by Howard Lyon, from Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson.

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This article contains heavy spoilers for Wind and Truth, and pretty much the entire Cosmere. Worldhop here at your own risk.

A rabbit hole sent me down a path to uncover the origin of Hoid’s many aliases throughout the Cosmere in an effort to solve an enigma from Wind and Truth. What started as a way to seek answers resulted in a bog of more questions, naturally.

One of the biggest mysteries coming out of Wind and Truth was Dalinar’s late encounter with Nohadon after he ascended to the Shard of Honor. We don’t quite know what was going on there; while previous visions had Dalinar taking the role of someone in the past and interacting with characters playing out a scene of history, this vision had Dalinar speaking with Nohadon directly. There are several well founded theories amongst the community currently (February 2025) that point to other Shards, Adonalsium, even the actual real Nohadon, somehow stuck in the spiritual realm.

This one was one of the topics that I was determined to explore for an article, but like so many other articles I’ve begun, the journey didn’t exactly land me to the destination I was prepared for.

The biggest clue I pulled from chapter 142 is the name that Nohadon calls Hoid: Midius. I'll explore the implications of this later, but for now let's dive in to all of the names for Hoid that we know of.

Art by Howard Lyon, from Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson. Hoid is hiding off to the right, which I missed until writing this article.

Hoid goes by likely countless names throughout the Cosmere and each is a clue to the places he’s been and the people he has interacted with. With a specific name in hand, we should get more of a clue on just who the Nohadon in these visions might be. Or not. It’s complicated.

The table of Hoid names

Based on my research through all of the published books, dozens of WoBs in the Arcanum, several Coppermind pages, and a scattering of other sources, I’ve assembled the locations and context for each of Hoid’s aliases. For each planet, I am listing the likely planet of origin. For those with multiple origins that can’t quite be traced, I’ll simply be labeling them as “Cosmere.”

Name	Planet	Context
Hoid	Cosmere	We see Hoid referenced by this name across many books and on many planets across the Cosmere. It’s important to note that this is not his original name, but seems to be one he commonly took on.
Roamer	Cosmere	Referenced by Demoux, Galladon and Baon while searching for Hoid on Roshar.
Dust	Nalthis	We here Zahel / Vasher refer to Hoid as Dust, which is interesting given that he would also go by Hoid on Nalthis as the
The King’s / Queen’s Wit	Roshar	This is the title and name Hoid would take on while serving in the Alethi court under both Elokar and Jasnah.
The Imperial Fool of the Rose Empire	Sel	Hoid held a role similar to the one he held on Roshar, but this time with the court of the Rose Empire.
Topaz	Cosmere	Earned from the Dawnshard he held, related to the title of Bearer of the First Gem.
Drifter	Scadrial	Kelsier would refer to Hoid by this name in Secret History before he knew his identity.
Wanderer	Cosmere	The name Sazed (as Harmony) gives for Hoid in their correspondence regarding Odium. Using the Cosmere here since Sazed’s influence goes beyond Scadrial at this point.
Lunu'anaki	Roshar	The Unkalaki gave Hoid this name, like when he emerged from the perpendicularity in the Horneater peaks, mistaking him for a Spren.
Cephandrius Maxtori	Yolen	This is the name that the other Shards would know Hoid by, but again, this is not his original name. We have it on decent authority that this is the closest timeline-wise to his original name.
Midius	Ashen	The heralds would know Hoid as Midius. Apparently Nohadon would as well. Other early Rosharans would refer to him with this name as well, likely for as long as he stuck around Roshar post migration from Ashen.
Bearer of the First Gem	Cosmere	This is a title associated with the Dawnshard Hoid held at once point (or many) that was associated with the gem topaz.
Whitehair	Roshar	A nickname Lift would give Hoid.
The Trickster Aspect	Roshar	This is a title that the Irali would give to Hoid, but it’s important to note that it might be older than their time on Roshar. We learn that the Iriali have hundreds of legends surrounding The Trickster Aspect, and so it’s likely their origins go well beyond Roshar.
Mythwalker	Cosmere	The sleepless refer to Hoid as Mythwalker.

One name I took off of my table is Hoed, from Sel. Hoed is not technically a name, but a title that refers to the group of Elantrians affected by the Reod. In the 10th anniversary edition of Elantris, we get a post script that details Hoid leaving the planet through Devotion’s perpendicularity after failing to become an Elantrian. I can’t find any strict references that said that Hoid was among the Hoed, or know as one.

Stories yet to be told

At some point I want to do a breakdown of the travels of Hoid, and this work will be a foundational element of that article. For now, I am working on a similar series for other characters in Cosmere that are a little more… limited in scope.

We have not seen the last of, or even the beginning of Hoid, and there will still be many more stories to tell before we can capture all of him on (digital) paper.

And what about Midius and Nohadon?

I’m still working on this theory unfortunately. Sometimes when I get to start an article, I end up chasing down several rabbit holes that lead me away from my target destination. Why would the Sons of Honor be a splinter group of the Envisagers and not the other way around? Does which Heralds you swear by dictate where you’re from on Roshar? Why are the Irali so culturally significant on every planet they visit.

It’s pure madness.

For now, we’ll leave this as an interesting article about the many names of Hoid, but look forward to my Nohadon theory in an upcoming article.

Invest in yourself. Invest in the Cosmere.

The table of Hoid names

Stories yet to be told

And what about Midius and Nohadon?

Say the words. Invest in the Cosmere.