# What would your papal name be? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 22, 2013, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-your-papal-name-be/651114 "2013-02-22T21:33:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2013, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-your-papal-name-be/651114/1 "2013-02-22T21:33:01Z")
OK, I accept that this will be derailed within the first 8 posts to see who can have the funniest name but I do intend for this to be serious. If the Vatican calls you up and tells you that you’re the new Pope (if female assume they decided to be more liberal, if non-Catholic assume that you’re willing to convert to get the gig). What papal name would you pick and why. I would probably go with Leo XIV because of all the recent popes, I admire Leo XIII the most and would try to emulate him. He saw a need to modernize Catholicism and I think the Christianity should be a progressive and service-oriented religion. I also think that any religion should occassionally re-examine its place in the world and decide what tenents such as homosexuality, abortion or women in the ministry should change and which are absolutely vital to keep . However, there’s an outside chance I would go with Pope Cadwallader. It’s a saint’s name so yes there is a real [Saint Cad](http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=2538). There’s something about NOT going with a really recent name that appeals to me. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2013, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-your-papal-name-be/651114/2 "2013-02-22T21:40:20Z")
Mercury. 😉 The papal name I liked was fictional: Kiril, from “The Shoes of the Fisherman.” But the point there was that it was his real name. ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2013, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-your-papal-name-be/651114/3 "2013-02-22T21:46:21Z")
Maybe Francis I, after St. Francis of Assisi… he always seemed like a cool dude to me. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2013, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-your-papal-name-be/651114/4 "2013-02-22T21:47:10Z")
I’d pick Julian. for the English mystic and anchoress. So I’d be Julian I. There have been male popes named Julius, this would be a feminine form of that name I guess. > [@cjepson](#): > > Maybe Francis I, after St. Francis of Assisi… he always seemed like a cool dude to me. There was a fictional Pope by that name, in a novel I read many years ago. It was _The Vicar of Christ_, by Francis Murphy. A very good book, IMHO, but with a bittersweet ending. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2013, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-your-papal-name-be/651114/5 "2013-02-22T22:00:53Z")
Pope Thomas I. Because sceptical inquiry can be a key to strong faith. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2013, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-your-papal-name-be/651114/6 "2013-02-22T22:01:39Z")
Hilarius 2 has a nice ring to it. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2013, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-your-papal-name-be/651114/7 "2013-02-22T22:02:04Z")
Jeebus I. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2013, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-your-papal-name-be/651114/8 "2013-02-22T22:07:46Z")
Pope Linus II. The original Pope Linus is a victim of Second Guy Syndrome, like Buzz Aldrin and John Adams, and it’s time somebody gave him some props. Plus of course it would be a tribute to Linus Van Pelt. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2013, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-your-papal-name-be/651114/9 "2013-02-22T22:21:16Z")
It’s about time for a Pope Patrick! (Yeah, I’m Irish, why?) ---
**Author:** ![hotflungwok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/edb3f5/32.png) [@hotflungwok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hotflungwok)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2013, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-your-papal-name-be/651114/10 "2013-02-22T22:23:15Z")
Pope Copernicus Galileo Einstein Dawkins the 1st ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2013, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-your-papal-name-be/651114/11 "2013-02-22T22:40:25Z")
Pope Peter II - would be fun watching the reactions! (See [Prophecy of the Popes](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prophecy_of_the_Popes)) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2013, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-your-papal-name-be/651114/12 "2013-02-22T22:52:43Z")
TriPoplar ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2013, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-your-papal-name-be/651114/13 "2013-02-22T22:58:11Z")
**[Lando](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Lando) II** ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2013, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-your-papal-name-be/651114/14 "2013-02-22T23:06:14Z")
My papal name is Pope Ignatius; I am a pope of the People’s Catholic Church and have been since it was founded. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2013, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-your-papal-name-be/651114/15 "2013-02-22T23:11:17Z")
Quite seriously, I would choose Sylvester. I guess Sylvester IV or maybe V (there was an antipope Sylvester IV). The reason is that Sylvester II (996-1003) helped reintroduce learning into the west. He went to a Muslim academy in Spain (“disguised as an Arab” in one account I read) and learned all about the mathematics and science in the Arab world, much of it from the Greeks, having been destroyed in Europe during the dark ages. People like him led after a long time to the Renaissance. And for that I would honor him. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2013, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-your-papal-name-be/651114/16 "2013-02-22T23:23:34Z")
> [@NitroPress](#): > > Jeebus I. I was right. It took less than 8 posts 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2013, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-your-papal-name-be/651114/17 "2013-02-22T23:24:53Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > Quite seriously, I would choose Sylvester. I guess Sylvester IV or maybe V (there was an antipope Sylvester IV). The reason is that Sylvester II (996-1003) helped reintroduce learning into the west. He went to a Muslim academy in Spain (“disguised as an Arab” in one account I read) and learned all about the mathematics and science in the Arab world, much of it from the Greeks, having been destroyed in Europe during the dark ages. People like him led after a long time to the Renaissance. And for that I would honor him. One of the reason John XXIII chose his number was to make official the status of antipope Johns. So would you pick IV or V? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2013, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-your-papal-name-be/651114/18 "2013-02-23T00:08:38Z")
> [@hotflungwok](#): > > Pope Copernicus Galileo Einstein Dawkins the 1st You left out “Darwin”. 😉 I’d complete the circle and be Pope George Ringo I. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2013, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-your-papal-name-be/651114/19 "2013-02-23T00:13:19Z")
Innocent XIV (cool name) ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2013, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-your-papal-name-be/651114/20 "2013-02-23T00:16:39Z")
John Calvin Martin Luther I. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-your-papal-name-be/651114.md?page=2)