# Question about Popes choosing names

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-popes-choosing-names/297450>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 2, 2005, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-popes-choosing-names/297450 "2005-04-02T22:34:52Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Chairman\_Pow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Chairman\_Pow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chairman_Pow)\
**Post date:** [April 2, 2005, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-popes-choosing-names/297450/1 "2005-04-02T22:34:52Z")

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So, when you become Pope, you generally change your name to reflect someone you admire. If there was already a Pope who chose that name, you became Pope [name] X+1.

But, what if you were enamnored of John the 14th and not necessarily John? Would you be John XXIV-II? Or do you just get in line and become John X+1?

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**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\
**Post date:** [April 2, 2005, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-popes-choosing-names/297450/2 "2005-04-02T22:39:03Z")

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[Check out this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=309871)

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**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\
**Post date:** [April 2, 2005, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-popes-choosing-names/297450/3 "2005-04-02T22:41:44Z")

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> [@Chairman Pow](#):
>
> But, what if you were enamnored of John the 14th and not necessarily John? Would you be John XXIV-II? Or do you just get in line and become John X+1?

The latter. Anything else would be confusing.

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**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\
**Post date:** [April 3, 2005, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-popes-choosing-names/297450/4 "2005-04-03T06:50:43Z")

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LL Cool JP3 is probably right out.

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**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\
**Post date:** [April 3, 2005, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-popes-choosing-names/297450/5 "2005-04-03T07:38:03Z")

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And there was no John XX, but there were John XXI-XXIII