Why do monarchs change their names when they become king or queen?

Question

I was wondering why monarchs (and the Pope, even) choose a new name when they ascend to their position.

Answer 1

The tradition, actually, goes back some four thousand years or more.  Whenever a person comes to a grand fork in their lives, or a major change, they may change their name.

Abraham changed his name from Abram, when he discovered that there was only one Gd, as did Sarah, from Sarai.  Jacob changed his name to Israel after wrestling with the angel.  And the list goes on.

Marriage is one of those situations, except that in modern times, a woman only changes her surname, and in some cultrues only adds a new one.

Popes, btw are not the ONLY ones who do it.  Almost all Catholics go through a name change or name addition at some point in their lives:  confirmation..ever hear of a "confirmation name"?  It's when a young person gets to choose a new name to add to their own name and some people start using it as their primary name (Kinda rare nowadays).  Nuns and priests can choose to change their names when they complete their training, and at every stage thereafter, so, when a priest becomes a monsignor, a bishop, a cardinal, then pope.  

Tradition probably goes back much further, but isn't recorded.

Answer 2

The question is WHY, Rachelle, but nice job copying and pasting.

The reason why is many and it is entirely dependent on the person or family.

One reason is tradition: In Denmark, kings alternate between Frederick and Christian because a pattern just developed and then it "stuck". The Queen of Denmark takes the place of a Christian, her father was a Frederick and her son is a Frederick. Most of these individuals are born with those names though, so they don't exactly change.

Another reason is to honour a beloved or acclaimed predecessor: Pope John Paul II chose that name because the previous and immediately preceding pope of that name had a very short reign of around 30 days, I believe. John Paul II chose to honour John Paul I because of his gentle nature.

Another reason is to reflect the culture of a people: When Prince William of Denmark was called to the throne of Greece, he took the name George I because George in its Greek form is a common, solid name in Greece. Also when Prince Charles of Denmark was called to the throne of Norway in 1905, he chose the name Haakon VII as a Norwegian name for a King of Norway.

Answer 3

Popes always do but not always Monarchs. The Current Queen of the UK's first name is Elizabeth and her uncle (Edward VIII), her grandfather (George V) and great-grandfather (Edward VII) all reigned under their first names.

In fact the only two Monarchs to not rule under their first name were Queen Victoria (her first name was Alexandrina, but she had always been referred to as Princess Victoria) and George VI (first name was Albert, he used his last name to rule).

Answer 4

I'm not sure, but I think it has something to do with the ancient Romans.

Before Romans became citizens, they were called provincials. They served in the auxiliary, or the army for provincials. Then, after years of service, they became Roman citizens and they had to take on a Roman name and even wear Roman clothes.

It might be the reason, it might not be...

Answer 5

The change in name is designed to signal a new stage of life. The names are generally references to past rulers or religious figures. It's almost a promise to the people saying "I will work to do as well as the person I have named myself after. I will leave behind anything that will not help me succeed in leading you."

Answer 6

A regnal name, or reign name, is a formal name used by some popes and monarchs during their reigns. Since medieval times, monarchs have frequently chosen to use a name different from their own personal name (and therefore the regnal name is technically a pseudonym) when they inherit a throne.

The new name is followed by an ordinal to give a unique name for the period when the monarch is on the throne. However, in the case of a personal union, the same ruler may carry different ordinals in each state, as they are each assigned chronologically; but some may have more precursors of the same Christian name (usually from a different dynasty).

The names chosen by popes are not based on any system other than general honorifics. They have been based on immediate predecessors, mentors, political similarity, or even after family members—as was the case with Pope John XXIII. The practice of a man using his baptismal name as pope has not been ruled out and future popes could elect to continue using their baptismal names after being elected pope.

Read more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regnal_name

Answer 7

British monarchs actually use one of their many names, strangley not always the one they are commonly known as at home. This has changed with the current monarch though who was always Elizabeth.

Prince Charles could be any of Charles Phillip Arthur and George and one pundit has suiggested that he woulde be George, for similar reasons to the pope chosing his name, that being to be associated with predecessors of the same name.