Regnal name

A regnal name, or reign name, is a formal name or label which refers to the years of the reign of a monarch or a pope. 

A monarch sometimes chooses a reign name which is different from his or her personal name.
Example: Edward VII of the United Kingdom, born Albert Edward of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

A pope chooses a regnal name when he is elected. It becomes his new personal name.
Example: Pope John Paul II, born Karol Józef Wojtyła,

The new name -- or sometimes the old one -- is followed by an ordinal number to create a unique name for the period in which the monarch is on the throne. 
Example: Elizabeth II was queen of the United Kingdom and many other Commonwealth Realms until her death in 2022
Elizabeth I of England (1533–1603) was the 1st British queen named Elizabeth.  She ruled over "Elizabethan" England. Her time on the throne was called the "Elizabethan era" or the "Elizabethan age".

Related pages
 Family name
 Given name
 Posthumous name
 Surname
 Japanese era names

Category:Names
Category:Monarchy