What was the original Egyptian name for the city of Memphis?

The original Egyptian name for Memphis was Ineb Hedj, meaning “the White Walls.”

Ineb Hedj, also written Inebu-hedj, was the city’s early Egyptian name and reflected its identity as a major royal and administrative center in Lower Egypt. Memphis occupied a strategic position near the boundary between Upper and Lower Egypt, making it an ideal capital for rulers governing the unified kingdom.

The city acquired several other names during its long history. In the Middle Kingdom it could be called Ankh-Tawy, “Life of the Two Lands.” During the New Kingdom, Men-nefer became an important name for the city. Men-nefer originally referred to the pyramid complex of the 6th-Dynasty king Pepi I, then gradually became associated with Memphis itself.

The familiar Greek name Memphis developed from Men-nefer, not from Ineb Hedj. That is why Men-nefer is a tempting but later answer. Thebes was another major Egyptian city, while Heka was a religious term associated with magical power, not the original name of Memphis.