Love Calculator

How the Love Calculator works

Love calculator: the FLAMES and counting games

Love calculators online are mostly random-number generators with a heart on the button. This one is not random; it implements the two paper games faithfully, so the same two names always give the same answer and you can argue about whether to use a middle name or a nickname, which is the real entertainment.

The LOVES method. Write both names together, then count how many times each letter of the word LOVES appears in them: the number of Ls, then Os, Vs, Es and Ss. That gives a row of five digits. Add each neighbouring pair, left to right, and write the sums as a new row of digits; if a sum is 10 or more, its two digits both go into the row. Repeat until only two digits remain, and read them as a percentage. For "Romeo" and "Juliet" the counts are 1 L, 2 Os, 0 Vs, 2 Es and 0 Ss, giving 12020; pairs add to 3, 2, 2, 2, so 3222; then 5, 4, 4, so 544; then 9 and 8, so 98%. Some versions use the word LOVE or TRUE LOVE instead, and some stop at three digits and drop the first; this page uses the five-letter version, which is the most widely printed.

The FLAMES game. Write the two names and cross out every letter that appears in both, one match at a time, so a name with two Es cancels two Es in the other. Count the letters that are left. Then count that many letters round the word FLAMES, striking out the letter you land on, and keep counting from the next letter with the shortened word until one remains. F is Friends, L Lovers, A Affectionate, M Marriage, E Enemies and S Siblings. Regional versions swap Affectionate for Adore or Anger, and some count from the struck letter rather than the next one; the calculator uses the count-from-the-next-letter rule, which is the common playground form. If every letter cancels, there is nothing to count and the game has no answer, which the result says plainly.

Why the answer changes with spelling. Both methods use only the letters typed, so "Kate" and "Katherine" give different results with the same partner, and accents, hyphens and spaces are ignored. That sensitivity is the whole joke: there is no information about the people in the calculation, only about the names.

What this is for. Parties, cards, quizzes and nostalgia. It is not a compatibility test and no serious claim is attached to any percentage. If you want a date-based game instead, the zodiac sign calculator, Chinese zodiac calculator and life path number calculator sit in the same category with the same disclaimer.

Love calculator worked examples

The formula: count the letters L, O, V, E and S across both names, write the five counts as a row of digits, then add each neighbouring pair and repeat until two digits remain. That number is the score.

First example. Romeo and Juliet: L, O, V, E, S counts 1, 2, 0, 2, 0, working 12020 → 3222 → 544 → 98, so 98%. FLAMES leaves 9 letters after cancelling and lands on Enemies.

Second example. Harry and Sally: counts 2, 0, 0, 0, 1, working 20001 → 2001 → 201 → 21, so 21%. FLAMES leaves 6 letters and lands on Marriage.

LOVES score and FLAMES result for famous fictional couples

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