THE EXORCIST: WHY BLATTY CALLED THE POSSESSED GIRL "REGAN"

Several years ago, I was friends with a celebrated author who was friends with William Peter Blatty who wrote The Exorcist.  My friend conveyed a question from me to Blatty, why did he name the possessed girl "Regan"?  I buttressed my query with a thesis as to why I thought she was called "Regan", and to my surprise, Blatty affirmed that I'd "hit the nail on the head". 

In the 6 years I've lived on the West Coast, a lot of people have two reactions to my last name (or "surname" as we say in my native Ireland), they say, "Oh, like the late president?" Or, "Isn't "Regan" the same name as the girl in The Exorcist?"

"Regan", translated from the Irish/Gaelic literally means "little king", or the king with few subjects. If you are a woman with that name, your name means "daughter of the little king". 

Jesus in the Gospels foretells that few will make it into Heaven; His Kingdom will have few souls. There is the official doctrine of the fewness of the saved, which elicits a reaction of chagrin from most of us, including myself. I am trying and often failing to be among the few of the few.

Blatty called the 12 year old girl - who gets occupied by a demon after playing with the Ouija board - "Regan" to mean she is a daughter of the Lord, who, by His own words admitted His Kingdom will have a little population. It is a homage to the Lord's words in the Gospel, and foreshadows Regan's release from the satanic when she is saved by the power of Christ the King.

Blatty, to my knowledge, never revealed widely the codes behind the names of his characters, but they deserve deeper analysis. 

The Exorcist is revisited most often this time of year, particularly on All Hallows' Eve. I wish everyone, especially my fellow Exorcist aficionados a very blessed and joyful All Hallows' Eve.