Names That Mean King, Queen, Ruler or Royal

Torvald, not to be confused with Torvill of skating fame, is a Norse name which might be of interest to parents looking for Thor-related options. Torvald is most familiar in the English-speaking world as the infuriatingly sexist husband of Nora in Ibsen's play A Doll's House, which may account for its low usage. However, Linus Torvalds, inventor of Linux , might put the name into a more positive light, especially in Silicon Valley.

Torvald

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.

Balthasar

The Turkish element ay, meaning "moon," is common among girl names. In this case, it is combined with büke, meaning "queen," giving Aybüke a stunning and covetable meaning.

Aybüke

Arrigo

Walda

In Pierre Benoit's novel, Antinea is a beautiful and charming queen with a hideous secret: She has a cave wall with 120 niches carved into it, one for each of her lovers. Only 53 have been filled; when all 120 have been filled, Antinea will sit atop a throne in the centre of the cave and rest forever.



Antinea

In Greek Mythology, Minos was the first king of Crete. The Minotaur was born to his wife after Minos refused to sacrifice his bull to Poseidon.

Minos

An entrancing, beguiling name that goes far to freshen up Sarah.

Zarouhi

Kruno comes from the Serbo-Croatian kruna, meaning crown, and is usually a short form of the name Krunoslav. Pronounced like Bruno with a K, it's a cool and internationally undiscovered name that could easily join the stylish -O name family.

Kruno

Zolten is a variant spelling of Zoltan, which is currently in the Top 50 in Hungary, its country of origin. We recommend you stick with the original spelling, which remains extremely rare.

Zolten

A strong and regal sounding name that appears in the Old Testament, Melech is also spelled as Meilech and Melek. The name is related to Melchior — one of the three kings said to have visited Jesus — and to the Arabic Malik, as both ultimately derive from Maloka, a royal title used in ancient Assyria and Babylonia.
 
More recent bearers include American-Jewish singer Meilech Kohn and historian and writer Melech Epstein

Melech

A name of Persian origin, Shahana is a regal yet grounded feeling choice, and a feminine form of Shahan, meaning "king-like" or "exalted".


Shahana

A Latinized (and more wearable) form of the Anglo-Saxon Cwengifu, Queniva is a sparky sounding name that could get you to vintage nickname Queenie, or to the more familiar Evie, Neve, Eva, or even Quin. It's similarity in sound to Jennifer, Guinevere, and Geneva might help this oldy-worldy name fit in. 

Queniva

A Latinized (and more wearable) form of the Anglo-Saxon Cwengifu, Queneva is a sparky sounding name that could get you to vintage nickname Queenie, or to the more familiar Evie, Neve, Eva, or even Quin. It's similarity in sound to Jennifer, Guinevere, and Geneva might help this oldy-worldy name fit in. Queniva is another spelling. 

Queneva

A feminine form of the herby Basil, Basileia is an older transliteration of Vasilia or Vasileia, which all link back to the Greek words for "king" and "reign". A stately name, it would be pronounced with a V sound in its native Greece, however, like with Basil itself, English speakers likely pronounce it with the B. 

Basileia

A rare name with a distinctive sound, Millvina is associated with Millvina Dean who was the last survivor of the Titanic before her death in 2009. She was also the youngest person on-board the ship and became known as the Titanic's miracle baby during the rescue. While her birthname was Eliza Gladys Milvina, she was known as Millvina with the double L. 
 
Millvina is possibly a variation of Melvina or Melivinia, feminine forms of Melvin, meaning "chieftain, ruler" or "bad town" depending on whether it is interpreted as a form of the Welsh Meilyr or the French Melville.

Millvina

Samuel Johnson invented the name Rasselas for the title character of his novel, Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia. Rasselas is actually the son of the prince.

TV auteur Sally Wainwright recently used the name Rasselas for one of the heroes of her show Renegade Nell.

Rasselas

The modern name Till is in the German Top 100. Used in contemporary terms on its own, it's traditionally a short form of names beginning with Diet such as Deitrich, which is itself a form of Theodoric. Because of its English word equivalent, it's a bit slight to ever make it as a standalone name in the English-speaking world.

Fun fact: Till is a root of the Latinized name Thelonious, famous via jazz great Thelonious Monk.

Till

Quenby

A bit too close to "quandary" and "queen". 

Quanda

Names that mean ruler or royal are not necessarily actual 

, such as George and Charlotte, but names that mean king, prince, queen, princess, royal, or ruler. There can be some overlap — Henry, the birth name of Prince Harry, has the royal meaning "estate ruler."

Girl names that mean ruler or royal in the US Top 1000

 include Aubrey, Mira, and Zara. Girl names that mean princess and names that mean queen include Sadie, Juno, Orla, and Queen itself.

male names that mean ruler or royal in the US Top 1000

 include Frederick, Derek, Rex, and Eric. Boy names that mean king include Balthasar, Kingsley, Malik, and Rory.

 — yes, that's a thing — include Kinsey, Rory, and Reagan. There is even a prince name for girls, Maella.

Unusual but fashionable names with royal meanings

 include Eulalia, Rhiannon, Laszlo, and Riordan.

 is one of the many positive ways you can give your child a name to live up to. There are names that mean ruler or royal in every style, from a range of cultures, for girls and for boys.

A complete list of our names that mean royal or ruler is here.

Names that mean king, queen, ruler or royal include fashionable choices such as Henry and Zara, with meaning and popularity (Page 9)