What clues are given in the Handmaid's Tale towards Offred's real name?

Question

I read the book four months ago, yet I do not remember if there was any clues regarding Offred's real name. However, the very first episode of The Handmaid's Tale series suggested that

Understandably, I stopped watching the series, because of this huge spoiler.

Were there any clues in the first book, i.e., The Handmaid's Tale, regarding the real name of Offred?

Were there any other names in the first book which could have been Offred's name?

Valorum · Accepted Answer

This is addressed in Atwood's preface to the 2017 edition.

Why do we never learn the real name of the central character, I have
often been asked. Because, I reply, so many people throughout history
have had their names changed or have simply disappeared from view.
Some have deduced that Offred’s real name is June, since, of all the
names whispered among the Handmaids in the gymnasium/ dormitory, June
is the only one that never appears again. That was not my original
thought, but it fits, so readers are welcome to it if they wish.

The passage in question is below.

We learned to lip-read, our heads flat on the beds, turned sideways,
watching each other’s mouths. In this way we exchanged names, from bed
to bed:
Alma. Janine. Dolores. Moira. June.

Buzz · Answer

Chapter 1 of the book describes the Rachel and Leah Center where the narrator of the story has been sent for reeducation, along with other potential child-bearing women.  The chapter ends with:

We learned to whisper almost without sound.  In the semi-darkness we could stretch out our arms, when the Aunts weren't looking, and touch each other's hands across space.  We learned to lip-read, our heads flat on the beds, turned sideways, watching each other's mouths.  In this way we exchanged names, from bed to bed:
Alma.  Janine.  Dolores.  Moira.  June.

All the other women named in this passge, all of them except June, appear later in the story.  If those were the only five women present, then June must be the narrator, Offred.
There are no other unidentified women's names in the rest of the book, so "June" is the only possibility for the narrator's first name for which there is any evidence.

What clues are given in the Handmaid's Tale towards Offred's real name?

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