What do the names of British kings and queens actually mean?

King Wealth-Guard, Queen Bitterness, and King Desire-Helmet, for starters

Queen God-Is-My-Oath
(Image credit: Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

Can you imagine if the kings and queen of Britain of the 20th and 21st centuries were called King Farmer, King Wealth-Guard, Queen God-Is-My-Oath, and (coming up) King Freeman and King Desire-Helmet?

Well, guess what? They are. You just didn't know it because their names are modified (sometimes heavily modified) versions of Greek, Germanic, and Hebrew originals. In fact, only one of their names traces back to Old English. Only one, of all the names of kings and queens of England!

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James Harbeck

James Harbeck is a professional word taster and sentence sommelier (an editor trained in linguistics). He is the author of the blog Sesquiotica and the book Songs of Love and Grammar.