At the same time, for the very reason that he was cut loose from local associations, no place could lay claim to being the seat of the deity.

Ur-Bau, when erecting a sanctuary to Ea at Girsu, significantly calls the god 'the king of Eridu.' The sanctuary is not, in this case, the dwelling-place of the god.
We are justified, therefore, in going back many centuries, before reaching the period when Ea was, merely, the local god of Eridu.

Whether Ea is to be regarded as the real name of the god, or is also an ideograph like En-ki, is again open to doubt.

If Ea is the real pronunciation, then the writing of the name is a play upon the character of the deity, for it is composed of two elements that signify 'house' and 'water,'-- the name thus suggesting the character and real seat of the deity.

A point in favor of regarding Ea as the real name, albeit not decisive, is the frequent use of the unmistakable ideographic description of the god as En-ki.