Lineage and name succession

The successors of the Kuzunoha Clan are not blood related. In the early days of the Clan's existence, the children and grandchildren of Summoners often inherited their parent's name, if only because the number of Summoners known to the Kuzunoha Clan outside of immediate family were very few. This practice changed only a few generations after the initial founding of the Kuzunoha Clan, though, thanks in part to both the Yatagarasu becoming involved with the Clan and a certain incident that led to the tragic death of Raidou Kuzunoha II. Since then, name succession has been determined by a combination of merit and onmyōdō divination.

After being initiated into training, soon-to-be Summoners of the Kuzunoha Clan take on a "childhood" or "apprentice" name (the distinction depends on what age they begin their training). Even after becoming full-fledged Summoners, it is not uncommon for members of the Clan to take on additional names depending on their current station, appraisal by the Clan Elders, and other various conditions. These practices closely resemble and even share a name with the tradition of shūmei that exists among the various traditional Japanese arts, though it's unclear which version of shūmei came first, or if the two even influenced each other at all.