Sussan Ley’s name change shocks the hosts of The Project

Comedian Kate Langbroek had a laugh about the origins of the unusual spelling of Sussan Ley’s name after the Liberal leader changed it as a teen.

The unusual spelling of new Liberal leader Sussan Ley’s name became the butt of a joke on Tuesday’s The Project, after it was revealed it is spelled differently to her birth certificate.

Ms Ley added an extra ‘s’ to her first name, which is still pronounced ‘Susan’, as a teenager based on numerology theory which suggests that the energetic vibrations of numbers can influence your life.

Numerology is not dissimilar to astrology but it uses names and letters rather than birth times to determine things like personality, success and the general trajectory of your life. The letters in your name correspond to different numbers, so altering the spelling can shift the energy of your name and the characteristics it brings with it, based on the theory.

Sussan Ley is Australia’s new Leader of the Opposition after she was chosen to lead the Liberal Party. Picture: Saeed Khan / AFP

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Comedian Kate Langbroek brought up the theory on The Project after host Waleed Aly argued the fact Ms Ley was the only candidate running from the ‘liberal’ wing of the party means her selection likely had less to do with gender and more to do with the future direction of the party.

“You know what means it is a gender thing,” Langbroek rebutted, “She’s into numerology!”

When Sarah Harris went on to explain that Ms Ley changed the spelling of her name because of “the numerology theory that an extra ‘s’ would mean her life would never be boring,” she was met with exclamations of shock and incredulity from the rest of the panel.

They went on to show a montage of silly moments from her career in politics saying, “If you’re wondering what Sussan with the extra ‘s’ is like, don’t worry, I went through the archives today and compiled a highlight reel.”

It featured Ms Ley dressed as Tina Turner, talking about her dancing days and fumbling with a netball.

Kate Langbroek joked about Liberal leader Sussan Ley's use of numerology to change her name. Picture: Channel 10/The Project

Ms Ley revealed her motivations for the name change in an interview with The Australianback in 2015 when she said: “I read about this numerology theory that if you add the numbers that match the letters in your name you can change your personality.”

“I worked out that if you added an ‘s’ I would have an incredibly exciting, interesting life and nothing would ever be boring. It’s that simple.

“And once I’d added the ‘s’ it was really hard to take it away.”

At the time, Australian numerology expert Chris Brazel told news.com.au that she’s seen people transform their lives with a simple name change.

“Every letter has an energy vibration, and there’s a really complex formula to use which is pinpoint accurate,” she said.

“With numerology, the day you’re born tells you everything about you, and your date of birth and name should match.”

Ms Brazel says she has worked with people whose first names didn’t match their birth date, but a simple change of a few letters, and a “domino effect” of changes that followed, led to positive changes.

Originally published as Sussan Ley’s name change shocks the hosts of The Project