Based on a series of lectures from 1970, Saul Kripke's Naming and Necessity is a landmark text in analytic philosophy. Kripke challenges traditional descriptivist theories of proper names, arguing instead that names are 'rigid designators' that refer to the same object in every possible world. He introduces the groundbreaking concepts of a posteriori necessary truths and a causal theory of reference, profoundly influencing the fields of philosophy of language, metaphysics, and epistemology. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in the fundamental questions about how language connects to reality.