# Titles Of Nobility In Many Lands **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 23, 2003, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-of-nobility-in-many-lands/170604 "2003-04-23T15:32:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-of-nobility-in-many-lands/170604/1 "2003-04-23T15:32:15Z")
An odd thought crossed my mind–what is the rquilavent of a “Baroness” in Greece? Or a Count in India? Or China? Or Japan? Links & Info on many countries are appreciated. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-of-nobility-in-many-lands/170604/2 "2003-04-23T17:10:58Z")
England: King/Queen Prince/Princess Duke/Duchess Marquess/\* Earl\*\*/Countess Viscount/Viscountess Baron/Baroness Baronet/\* Knights/\* - Not sure of the female version. \*\* There is no rank of Count in England. This may be because the title is awfully close to a rather vulgar word. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-of-nobility-in-many-lands/170604/3 "2003-04-23T17:13:17Z")
KO–that’s a start. Some more? ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-of-nobility-in-many-lands/170604/4 "2003-04-23T17:14:34Z")
I mean “OK”. Happy Dyslexia Day! :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Nichol\_storm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Nichol\_storm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nichol_storm)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-of-nobility-in-many-lands/170604/5 "2003-04-23T17:37:23Z")
German royalty and nobility: **Kaiser** = Emperor **Kaiserin** = Empress **Kronprinz** = Crown Prince, eldest son and heir of the Kaiser. **Prinzen von Preußen** = Prince of Prussia, a son of the Kaiser. **Prinzessin von Preußen** Princess of Prussia, a daughter of the Kaiser. **König** = King **Königin** = Queen **Großherzog** = Grand Duke **Großherzogin** = Grand Duchess **Erbgroßherzog** = Hereditary Grand Duke, eldest son and heir of a Großherzog. **Herzog** = Duke **Herzogin** = Duchess **Kurfürst** = Elector **Kurfürstin** = Electress **Landgraf** = Landgrave **Landgrafin** = Landgravine **Margraf** = Margrave **Margrafin** = Margravine **Pfalzgraf** = Count Palatine **Pfalzgrafin** = Countess Palatine **Fürst** = “Prince”, a son of a herzog, kurfürst, and or fürst. **Fürstin** = “Princess” **Graf** = Count **Grafin** = Countess **Freiherr** = Baron **Freifrau** = Baroness The wife of a Marquess is a Marchioness. .:Nichol:. ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-of-nobility-in-many-lands/170604/6 "2003-04-23T17:50:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RealityChuck \* > \*\*England: > > Marquess/\* > Baronet/\* > Knights/\* > > - Not sure of the female version. > \*\* Should have been United Kingdom, not England by the way. Marquess (which can also be spelt Marquis)/Marchioness, as **Nichol\_storm** said Knight/Dame I don’t think there are female baronets. Note that the wife of a person in the “male” column doesn’t automatically get the title in the “female” column either – e.g. a knight’s wife is a Lady, not a Dame. ---
**Author:** ![Nichol\_storm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Nichol\_storm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nichol_storm)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-of-nobility-in-many-lands/170604/7 "2003-04-23T21:28:39Z")
There’s a very good website called [The Royal Ark](http://www.dreamwater.net/regiment/RoyalArk/royalark.htm) which is mainly focused on genealogy of non-European dynasties, but also includes a main page listing titles and styles. Good place to check out if you’re interested in knowing the royal titles for such dynasties as the Turkish Ottomans, the Persian Safavids, the Indian Mughals, etc. .:Nichol:. ---
**Author:** ![brianmelendez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/65b543/32.png) [@brianmelendez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianmelendez)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-of-nobility-in-many-lands/170604/8 "2003-04-24T01:15:28Z")
The British herald L.G. Pine (who was not merely an expert in heraldry, but an actual herald) wrote several books on this subject, probably the most relevant of which is his [Story of Titles](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/flex-sign-in/ref=cm_rate_rev_pagepos1/104-1976830-0635125#rated-review), which covers Anglo-European titles of nobility. ---
**Author:** ![Dragonblink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Dragonblink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragonblink)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-of-nobility-in-many-lands/170604/9 "2003-04-24T03:16:48Z")
In my bookmarks I have [this](http://www.heraldica.org/topics/odegard/titlefaq.htm) site, which lists the various ranks and equivalents in Europe. Alas, I don’t have any bookmarks with similar information for other areas of the world. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-of-nobility-in-many-lands/170604/10 "2003-04-24T03:55:34Z")
Dragon, that is an _amazing_ website! Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-of-nobility-in-many-lands/170604/11 "2003-04-24T04:34:48Z")
Minor nit to pick with **Reality Chuck** ’s footnote: > [@](#): > > There is no rank of Count in England. This may be because the title is awfully close to a rather vulgar word. No, it’s because “Earl” – which derives from the Anglo-Saxon _Jarl_ – was already the equivalent rank. And there are, or were, Counts in England/U.K. – it’s merely that the title is not awarded by the British crown. But if a person who is legally a French _comte_ or a German _graf_ or whatever becomes a subject of Her Majesty, the title is translated to Count and becomes hereditary. There were several Counts deriving their title from German states and living in Britain as a result of this in the period around World War I, a few of them relatives or collateral members of the Royal Family. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-of-nobility-in-many-lands/170604/12 "2003-04-24T13:34:11Z")
**Dragonblink** –Many Thanks! That’s right on the money! 🆒🙂 ---
**Author:** ![xejkh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/22d042/32.png) [@xejkh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xejkh)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-of-nobility-in-many-lands/170604/13 "2003-04-24T14:21:29Z")
Ok, a list of Asian titles coming up… Feudal Chinese hierachy. Zhou (11 century - 256BC) King (Son of Heaven): wang2 5 grades of nobility (jue2): Duke: gong1 Marquis: hou2 Earl/Count: bo2 Viscount: zi3 Baron: nan2 So when you encounter names like Duke Xiang of Qin, his title in Chinese would be Qin2 Xiang1 Gong1. Nobility in this case were hereditary nobles who controlled increasingly-powerful fiefdoms. Post-Zhou: Emperor (huang2 di4) Crown Prince (tai4 zi3) Princes (wang2) The nobles After Zhou, ennoblement was for 2 kinds of people: males of the royal family, who became Princes; and distinguished officials of the bureaucracy. For the latter ennoblement was mostly a title and maybe a piece of land - very little power was conferred along with the title. Japan (Meiji era – 1945) Emperor (tenno) Empress (kougou) Crown Prince (koutaishi) Princes and Princesses (not sure if they have proper titles; any Dopers residing in Japan pls help?) 5 grades of nobility (shaku) (the same as the Chinese model) Duke: kou (gong1) Marquis: go (hou2) Earl/Count: haku (bo2) Viscount: shi (zi3) Baron: dan (nan2) After World War II all nobility was abolished; only the royal family retain titles. Malay Royalty: This system is extremely complex, especially when it comes to the titles of individual royal families in the 9 Malaysian states. Note: Raja usually translates into king, but in historical context can simply mean ruler. Even Alexander the Great, the common “ancestor” of all Malay royalty, has the title Raja (Raja Iskandar Zulkarnain). Some links: [http://www.geocities.com/aizaris/OrangBesarNegeri](http://www.geocities.com/aizaris/OrangBesarNegeri) [http://www.dreamwater.net/regiment/RoyalArk/Malaysia/malaysia.htm](http://www.dreamwater.net/regiment/RoyalArk/Malaysia/malaysia.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Nichol\_storm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Nichol\_storm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nichol_storm)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2003, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-of-nobility-in-many-lands/170604/14 "2003-05-23T00:41:53Z")
One good resource for Polish nobility is the [Almanach de Polska](http://www.geocities.com/polishnobles/) run by Rafal Heydel-Mankoo, whose grandmother was a princess Jablonowska. .:Nichol:. ---
**Author:** ![Lodrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@Lodrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lodrain)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2003, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-of-nobility-in-many-lands/170604/15 "2003-05-23T16:57:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Nichol\_storm \* > **Prinzen von Preußen = Prince of Prussia, a son of the Kaiser.** Shouldn’t that be _Prinz?_ _Prinzen_ is the inflected form, as shown in [this nicely-done declension table.](http://www.canoo.net/services/Controller?service=inflection&input=Prinz&features=(Cat+N)&lang=en) In my reading of the novels of the venerable James Clavell, I’ve come across the titles _daimyo_ and _hatamoto_. What are these titles equivalent to in Merry Olde Europe? ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2003, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-of-nobility-in-many-lands/170604/16 "2003-05-23T18:41:47Z")
There isn’t neccessarily a direct equivalent. A daimyo was a samurai who held land in his own right and had retainers he ruled in a feudal system. So, maybe the best equivalent would be King, Prince, or Duke (not to be confused with the Japanese title that usually gets translated “prince”, and belongs to another kind of Japanese nobility. A hatamoto was a samurai who had direct access to his daimyo.