Names That Mean King

An English surname originally given to the illegitimate sons of a monarch. Might be a nice middle name choice to honor an ancestral Roy.

Rey, a Ray-soundalike that has ranked on the boys' side for the past 15 years, is about to get more popular for girls too, now that it's the name of the new heroine of the latest Star Wars movie. While the sound of the name is nothing new, the royal connection is, joining names such as Reign (Kardashian) and Charlotte (the new Princess) in an expansive definition of royal baby names.

Balthasar was one of the biblical Three Kings who visited the infant Jesus, also used by Shakespeare and in the oil-rich Getty family; offbeat and intriguing. Balthazar is another, equally appropriate spelling.

Bodi is a succinct and friendly looking name, with a number of possible origins. One one hand, it could be a diminutive of the Hungarian Boldizsár, which ultimately derives from the Babylonian Belshazzar or Balthazar, in turn lending it a regal quality.

Ovie entered the British Top 1000 in 2020, following the appearance of contestant Ovie Soko on Love Island in 2019.

Aariv is connected to the Hindu god Krisha, who represents wisdom.

Baseball player Ryne Sandberg's nickname is RYNO. Need we say more?

Traditional German names of this ilk have had a difficult time emigrating into the American name pool, mostly because anti-German sentiment during the two world wars of the 20th century drove German names out of fashion. One of Heinrich's nicknames, Harro, might do better.

Sounds exactly like Ray—but with an on-trend royal vibe. The central protagonist in the newest Star Wars trilogy is a woman named Rey.

The origin of the Anglicized Ryan, this Irish name feels like a brighter and fresher alternative.

A spelling variant of presidential surname Regan that briefly entered the Top 1000 for boys in the 1960s, but hasn't rejoined the list since. Shakespeare also used the name for a daughter of King Lear, inspired by an ancient king of the Britons in accounts of the medieval scribe Geoffrey of Monmouth.

Emyr is a name that is well-known in Wales, but little heard outside of it. There are several well-known Emyrs, from the famed Welsh novelist and poet Emyr Humphries to footballer Emyr Huws.

The name of the King of Rohan in J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, supposedly a translation of Rohirric Tûrac ("king"). Tolkien based the Rohirric language on Old English.

This Yoruba name, with a mighty meaning, might seem a mouthful at first, but is often shortened to Tobi, which makes it far more manageable for non Nigerians.

An ancient Gaulish king with a cumbersome name and history. Vercingetorix was the leader of the Arverni tribe, who united the Gauls in a revolt against Roman forces during Julius Caesar's Gallic Wars. He was ultimately defeated, brought to Rome, and executed.

As Ryan quickly becomes a plausible option for a girl, some parents may be interested in the spelling Rian — the more authentic and original form of the name.

The Finnish writer Mika Waltari invented the name Minea from the Greek Minos for a character in his 1945 novel The Egyptian. It's become a popular Finnish name in the 21st century.

Ashkan, also spelled Ashkahn, is derived from Ashk, the name of an ancient Persian king. The Ashkan or Parthian empire was in what is now central Iran.

Name of a king featured in the Old Testament.

The Swiss city of Basel was first Basilia, thought to have been dubbed in honor of the Roman castle of the same name. The castle's name would have derived from Basilius, a Roman personal name from which the name Basil also originated.