When the runes were first used, the Germanic languages were not yet split into their modern branches; there was only one unified language (called "Proto-Germanic") with many regional dialects. Each rune had a name, like our modern letters have names, but these very old names are no longer known. By their association with later letters, the old names of the runes have been reconstructed. The [*] before a rune's Proto-Germanic name means this is a reconstructed name. Not all runes were drawn the same way, however, and some of the runes and their names were different in some places.