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Apapal name orpontifical name is theregnal name taken by apope. Both the head of theCatholic Church, usually known as the pope, and thepope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria (Coptic pope) choose papal names. As of 2025[update],Leo XIV is the Catholic pope, andTawadros II or Theodoros II is the Coptic pope.[1] This article discusses and lists the names of Catholic popes; another article has alist of Coptic Orthodox popes of Alexandria.
While popes in the early centuries retained their birth names after their accession to the papacy, later popes began to adopt anew name upon their accession.This began in the sixth century and became customary in the tenth century.Since 1555, every pope has taken a papal name.
The pontifical name is given inLatin by virtue of the pope's status asbishop of Rome and head of the Catholic Church. The pope is also given anItalian name by virtue of hisVatican citizenship and because of his position asprimate of Italy. However, it is customary when referring to popes to translate the regnal name into all local languages. Thus, for example, the current Catholic pope is Pope Leo in his native English as well as in Latin,Papa Leone in Italian,Papa León in Spanish,Pape Léon in French, and so on.
The officialstyle of the Catholic pope in English is "His Holiness Pope [papal name]". "Holy Father" is another honorific often used for popes.
The full title, rarely used, of the Catholic pope in English is: "His Holiness [papal name],Bishop of Rome,Vicar of Jesus Christ, Successor of thePrince of the Apostles,SupremePontiff of the Universal Church,Patriarch of the West,Primate of Italy,Archbishop and Metropolitan of theRomanProvince,Sovereign of theVatican City State,Servant of the servants of God".
The official title of theleader of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria is "Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of all Africa on theHoly See of St. Mark the Apostle, the Successor of St.Mark the Evangelist, Holy Apostle and Martyr, on the Holy Apostolic Throne of the Great City of Alexandria".
Within the Coptic Church, he is considered to be Father of Fathers, Shepherd of Shepherds, and Hierarch of all Hierarchs. Honorary titles attributed to the Hierarch of the Alexandrine Throne also include:
During the first centuries of the church, thebishops of Rome continued to use theirbaptismal names after their elections. The custom of choosing a new name began in AD 533: Mercurius deemed it inappropriate for a pope to be named after the pagan Roman godMercury, and adopted the nameJohn II in honor of his predecessorJohn I, who was venerated as amartyr. In the tenth century, clerics from beyond the Alps, especially Germany and France, acceded to the papacy and replaced their foreign-sounding names with more traditional ones.
The last pope to use his baptismal name wasMarcellus II in 1555, a choice that was even then quite exceptional. Names are freely chosen by popes, and not based on any system. Names of immediate or distant predecessors, mentors, saints, or even family members — as was the case withJohn XXIII — have been adopted.
In 1978,CardinalAlbino Luciani became the first pope to take adouble name, John Paul I, to honor his two immediate predecessors, John XXIII andPaul VI. John Paul I was also the first pope sinceLando in 913 to adopt a papal name that had not previously been used. In 2013, a new name was introduced: Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio selected the nameFrancis in honour of SaintFrancis of Assisi.[2]
In the past, some popes used their birth names; others chose names for various reasons, including the name of the pope who had elevated them to cardinal. From the mid-20th century it became customary to choose a name signaling the aim of their papacy.[3]
The new pontiff's choice of name is now often seen as a signal to the world of whom the new pope will emulate and what policies he will seek to enact. Such was the case withBenedict XVI — it was speculated that he chose the name because he wished to emulateBenedict XV.
Saint Peter was the first pope; no bishop of Rome has chosen the name Peter II, perhaps out of respect, although there is no prohibition against doing so. Since the 1970ssome antipopes, with only a minuscule following, took the name Pope Peter II.
Probably because of the controversial 15th-centuryantipope known as John XXIII, this name was avoided for over 500 years until the election in 1958 of CardinalAngelo Roncalli. Immediately upon taking the name of John, it was not known if he would be John XXIII or XXIV; he decided on John XXIII. The number used by an antipope is ignored unless the name has since been used by a legitimate pope; for instance,Benedict X was only deemed to have been an antipope centuries after his death, after the legitimate papacy of Nicola Boccasini asBenedict XI.
Immediately after a new pope is elected, and accepts the election, he is asked inLatin "By what name shall you be called?"[a] The new pope chooses the name by which he will be known from that point on. The senior cardinal deacon or cardinal protodeacon then appears on the balcony of Saint Peter's to proclaim the new pope by his birth name, and announce his papal name:
Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum:
Habemus Papam!
Eminentissimum ac reverendissimum dominum,
dominum [baptismal name],
Sanctæ Romanæ Ecclesiæ Cardinalem [surname],
qui sibi nomen imposuit [papal name].
I announce to you a great joy:
We have a Pope!
The Most Eminent and Most Reverend Lord,
Lord [baptismal name],
Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church [surname],
who takes to himself the name [papal name].
As of 2025, there have been 81 different papal names with 44 of these, all but one in the first millennium, having been used only once. The most frequently used papal name is John, with 21 popes having taken this name.
Note that six papal names — John, Benedict, Boniface, Alexander, Felix, and Martin — have numbering discrepancies, due to record-keeping errors ordisputes over whether a particular reigning pontiff was valid.
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