Papal name
A papal name is a special name (regnal name) which is chosen by the pope when he is elected.[1]
History
In the early church, popes were known by their ordinary names, such as Pope Adeodatus, Pope Formosus and Pope Hyginus.[1]
The practice of choosing a papal name started in the sixth century. At birth, Pope John II was named after the Roman god Mercury. When he was elected pope, he chose to be called by a Christian name.[1]
Papal names became customary in the 10th century. In 996, the first German pope was chosen; and he changed his name from Bruno to Gregory. He is known as Pope Gregory V.[1]
Every pope since the 16th century is known by a different name than the one he was given at birth.[2]
Frequency of names
The papal names have included John (23 times), Gregory (16), Clement (14), Innocent (13), Leo (13) and Pius (12).[3]
The first papal name to be repeated was Pope Sixtus. There have been four others.[3]
As with kings and emperors, a Roman numeral is added if the Pope chooses a name that another pope has used before[3] -- for example, Pope John Paul II decided to be known by the same name as the pope who came before him.
| Name | # | Popes | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | John | 21 | I · II · III · IV · V · VI · VII · VIII · IX · X · XI · XII · XIII · XIV · XV · XVI · XVII · XVIII · XIX · XX · XXI · XXII · XXIII | * John XVI = antipope * There was no John XX |
| 2. | Gregory | 16 | I · II · III · IV · V · VI · VII · VIII · IX · X · XI · XII · XIII · XIV · XV · XVI | |
| 3. | Benedict | 15 | I · II · III · IV · V · VI · VII · VIII · IX · X · XI · XII · XIII · XIV · XV · XVI | * Benedict X = antipope |
| 4. | Clement | 14 | I · II · III · IV · V · VI · VII · VIII · IX · X · XI · XII · XIII · XIV | |
| 5. | Innocent | 13 | I · II · III · IV · V · VI · VII · VIII · IX · X · XI · XII · XIII | |
| 6. | Leo | 13 | I · II · III · IV · V · VI · VII · VIII · IX · X · XI · XII · XIII | |
| 7. | Pius | 12 | I · II · III · IV · V · VI · VII · VIII · IX · X · XI · XII | |
| 8. | Stephen | 9 | I · II · III · IV · V · VI · VII · VIII · IX | Pope Stephen II died in 752 after election but before being consecrated. The next pope took the same name in 752; and he is known as either Stephen II or III.[2] |
| 9. | Boniface | 8 | I · II · III · IV · V · VI · VII · VIII · IX | * Boniface VII = antipope. |
| 10. | Urban | 8 | I · II · III · IV · V · VI · VII · VIII | |
| 11. | Alexander | 7 | I · II · III · IV · V · VI · VII · VIII | * Alexander V = antipope |
| 12. | Adrian | 6 | I · II · III · IV · V · VI | |
| 13. | Paul | 6 | I · II · III · IV · V · VI | |
| 14. | Celestine | 5 | I · II · III · IV · V | |
| 15. | Nicholas | 5 | I · II · III · IV · V | |
| 16. | Sixtus | 5 | I · II · III · IV · V | |
| 17. | Anastasius | 4 | I · II · III · IV | |
| 18. | Eugene | 4 | I · II · III · IV | |
| 19. | Honorius | 4 | I · II · III · IV | |
| 20. | Sergius | 4 | I · II · III · IV | |
| 21. | Callixtus | 3 | I · II · III | |
| 22. | Felix | 3 | I · II · III · IV · V | * Felix II and Felix V = antipope |
| 23. | Julius | 3 | I · II · III | |
| 24. | Lucius | 3 | I · II · III | |
| 25. | Martin | 3 | I · II · III · IV · V | *There was no Martin II or Martin III |
| 26. | Sylvester | 3 | I · II · III | |
| 27. | Victor | 3 | I · II · III | |
| 28. | Adeodatus | 2 | I · II | |
| 29. | Agapetus | 2 | I · II | |
| 30. | Damasus | 2 | I · II | |
| 31. | Gelasius | 2 | I · II | |
| 32. | John Paul | 2 | I · II | |
| 33. | Marcellus | 2 | I · II | |
| 34. | Marinus | 2 | I · II | * Marinus I is not "Martin[us] II" * Marinus II is not "Martin[us] III" |
| 35. | Paschal | 2 | I · II | |
| 36. | Pelagius | 2 | I · II | |
| 37. | Theodore | 2 | I · II | |
| 38. | Agatho | 1 | ||
| 39. | Anacletus | 1 | ||
| 40. | Anicetus | 1 | ||
| 41. | Anterus | 1 | ||
| 42. | Caius | 1 | ||
| 43. | Conon | 1 | ||
| 44. | Constantine | 1 | ||
| 45. | Cornelius | 1 | ||
| 46. | Dionysius | 1 | ||
| 47. | Donus | 1 | ||
| 48. | Eleuterus | 1 | ||
| 49. | Eusebius | 1 | ||
| 50. | Eutychian | 1 | ||
| 51. | Evaristus | 1 | ||
| 52. | Fabian | 1 | ||
| 53. | Formosus | 1 | ||
| 54. | Francis | 1 | ||
| 55. | Hilarius | 1 | ||
| 56. | Hormisdas | 1 | ||
| 57. | Hyginus | 1 | ||
| 58. | Lando | 1 | ||
| 59. | Liberius | 1 | ||
| 60. | Linus | 1 | ||
| 61. | Marcellinus | 1 | ||
| 62. | Mark | 1 | ||
| 63. | Miltiades | 1 | ||
| 64. | Peter | 1 | ||
| 65. | Pontian | 1 | ||
| 66. | Romanus | 1 | ||
| 67. | Sabinian | 1 | ||
| 68. | Severinus | 1 | ||
| 69. | Silverius | 1 | ||
| 70. | Simplicius | 1 | ||
| 71. | Siricius | 1 | ||
| 72. | Sisinnius | 1 | ||
| 73. | Soter | 1 | ||
| 74. | Symmachus | 1 | ||
| 75. | Telesphorus | 1 | ||
| 76. | Valentine | 1 | ||
| 77. | Vigilius | 1 | ||
| 78. | Vitalian | 1 | ||
| 79. | Zachary | 1 | ||
| 80. | Zephyrinus | 1 | ||
| 81. | Zosimus | 1 |
Related pages
References
- MSNBC.com, "What’s in a pope’s name?" April 19, 2005; retrieved 2012-8-28.
- "List of Popes," Catholic Encyclopedia (2009); retrieved 2013-3-16.
- "How Pope gets named," Sydney Morning Herald (Australia). April 4, 2005; retrieved 2012-8-28.