What’s in a Name?
As with the pope, subtle cues can indicate broader intentions
“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.”
— William Shakespeare, 1597
One of the lessons every leader needs to learn is that everything communicates. Everything.
We pick up signals from subtle decisions such as a tie or a shirt, preferred fonts, positioning of people in a room, titles, email signature lines, and more. Even neoclassical or romantic paintings that adorn a newsletter…
Leaders are constantly scrutinized, which means that as a leader, you need to take great care in the decisions you make, what you say, and how you say it.
Take the recently elected pope, for example.
Nominal Honors
In this week’s papal conclave, which took only two days — the fifth two-day election since 1900 — Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was selected as the new pope. The brevity of the process indicates wide agreement over his candidacy.
And as many of his predecessors, the new pope will select his name. This hasn’t always been the case, however.
In 533, Mercurius became the first pope to choose his papal name, as his surname was in honor of the Roman god Mercury. In an effort to throw off any accusation of paganism, he became John II.1
Naturally, the names that popes select for themselves carry meaning, ranging from their personal values to their strategic goals.
When Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger chose Benedict XVI as his name, he was honoring Benedict XV, who had guided the church through World War I. In doing so, his intention was to establish his ministry “in the service of reconciliation and harmony between peoples.”
In becoming the first Pope Francis, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio honored St. Francis of Assisi, “the man of poverty, the man of peace, the man who loves and protects creation,” as he told the press in 2013.2
The Fourteenth of His Name
Today, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost announced that he would hereby by known as Leo XIV. It’s a fascinating choice, rooted once more in history.
While Cardinal Prevost was born in Chicago, he has spent most of his life overseas and is considered an international figure. He held one of the most influential Vatican positions, running the office that selects bishops globally.
The speed at which he was selected — just two days — certainly telegraphs his universal acceptance with the cardinals. And the name he chose could tell us something about what kind of a leader he might be.
Leo XIII was pope from 1878 – 1903, making him the fourth longest-serving pope. He was an intellectual who modernized the thinking of the Catholic Church, particularly as it related to social, business, and labor issues.
In his 1891 encyclical titled Rerum novarum (“of revolutionary change”), or “Rights and Duties of Capital and Labor,”3
“Pope Leo outlined the rights of workers to a fair wage, safe working conditions, and the formation of trade unions, while affirming the rights to property and free enterprise, opposing both socialism and laissez-faire capitalism. With that encyclical, he became popularly titled as the "Social Pope" and the "Pope of the Workers", also having created the foundations for modern thinking in the social doctrines of the Catholic Church.”
In taking Leo XIV as his assignation and directly following the tenure of Pope Francis, the new leader of the 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide may very well be presaging a mission that will be thoughtful, inclusive, and humanitarian.
What’s in a name? We’re about to find out.
There’s so much to learn,
“The History of the Names of the Successors of Peter,” by Lisa Zengarini, Vatican News, May 7, 2025
“What name the new pope chooses can signal what’s ahead,” by Colleen Barry, The Washington Post, May 6, 2025
Pope Leo XIII, Wikipedia