Brother Jethro's reply answers the question as asked. However, if you want "dynamic" variable names, then you are very strongly advised to use a hash, so that you can calculate hash keys on the fly instead of variable names. This is far easier to make work with use strict, which will help avoid all kinds of subtle bugs, and just as importantly it will be easier for someone else to understand later. Hell, it'll be easier for you to understand later too.