William Branham Draft Card
William Branham's legal name, according to his 1940 draft card for the United States Defense Security Service, is "William Marvin Branham". This government document is the only official document yet identified containing the full spelling of William Branham's middle name, which differs from the name used in some versions of William Branham's stage persona. On most government documents, William Branham's name is listed as simply, "William M. Branham". As early as March of 1963, William Branham began claiming that his full name was "William Marrion Branham".
William Branham's legal name, according to his 1940 draft card for the United States Defense Security Service, is "William Marvin Branham". This government document is the only official document yet identified containing the full spelling of William Branham's middle name, which differs from the name used in some versions of William Branham's stage persona. On most government documents, William Branham's name is listed as simply, "William M. Branham". As early as March of 1963, William Branham began claiming that his full name was "William Marrion Branham".
There is many Branhams, if you want to talk about me personally, but I'm—I'm the one William Marrion Branham. That—that's me. But there's many other William Branhams, and so forth, around.Branham, William. 1963, March 24. Questions And Answers On The Seals
In later versions of his stage persona, William Branham claimed that it was spiritually significant for a person to have seven letters in their name. This claim was based upon the English translation of the Hebrew name "Abraham". In English, the patriarch of the Jews has seven letters. (The original Hebrew had four letters:
). In a private letter to his associate Lee Vayle, William Branham suggested that Lee Vayle begin assisting with this aspect of his stage persona by making that assertion:
Now, and another thing. If you'll notice, G-r-a-h-a-m is six letters. A-b-r-a-h-a-m is seven letters, and so is B-r-a-h-a-m seven letters. Now, if you're going to make that in conclusion, it might be a good thing. Now, Brother Lee, here is another thing that I would like to inject to you, that you--you might want to use it in some of the--in some of your material.
- Branham William. Unknown Date. Secret Audio Letter to Lee Vayle.
The usage of the name "Marrion" has seemed unusual by other researchers. As Peter Duyzer pointed out in his book, Legend of the Fall, "Marion" (with one 'R') is a very common name in Kentucky and Indiana. Marion is a county in Kentucky. It appears that by changing his name from "Marvin" to "Marion", William Branham was able to expand the spelling of the common six-letter name to seven letters by inserting an additional "R".
In current literature produced by Branham's cult headquarters, Voice of God Recordings, the name used by later versions of William Branham's stage persona is continued. The central figure of the "Message" cult is known as "William Marrion Branham".
Special thanks to Roy Weremchuk for this significant find.
