Egyptian Kings and Queens names

Some of the first hieroglyphic texts a student or traveller learns are the famous Egyptian rulers names, such as Ramses the 2nd (the Great) or Tutankhamon. In this resource you will find a complete list of all the known name variants for all the Egyptian Kings and Queens, sorted by dynasty.

Names included in the catalogue

The name variants themselves were extracted from several sources (mainly from BECKERATH (2009) and JOHNSON & PETTY, as well as from real artifacts and temples around Egypt).

Only the unique variants were included in this catalogue. Other variants including extra phonetic complements, or direction-related icons (i.e. S29 vs O34) were not included to avoid having a huge noisy amount of irrelevant or similar name variations.

For design reasons, all name variations are displayed in horizontal layout. Names that were originally written vertically, were reconfigured for better grouping positions, although the original icons were kept as they were written, rather than swapping them for possible horizontal vs vertical versions.

Horus Name

Also known as a Serekh (srx). It was already in use in the Predynastic Era and it was a symbol of the king being the personification of the god Horus on Earth. During the Second Dynasty, the kings Peribsen and Khasekhemwy switched that name to Seth Name.

Two Ladies Name

Also known as the Nebty name (nb.ty). It was in use from Semerkhet (from the First Dynasty), though it was not standardized as an independent name until Twelfth Dynasty. It was a symbol of the king's rulership over both Upper Egypt (symbolized by the vulture goddessNekhbet) and Lower Egypt (symbolized by the cobra goddessWadjet).

Golden Horus Name

Also known as theHor Nebu (1r-nbw). It was in use from the Fourth Dynasty onwards, as a symbol of the deification of the king (according to mythology, the gods' flesh was made of gold).

Coronation Name (prenomen)

Also known as the Nesut Bity name (nsw-bity), it was given to the king during the coronation ceremonies. Used from the First Dynasty, it was a symbol of the unification of Upper Egypt (symbolized by the sedge) and the Lower Egypt (symbolized by the bee).

Birth Name (nomen)

Also known as Sa Ra (sa-Ra), this name was given to the king right after his birth. It was in use from mid Fourth Dynasty on, and appeared as a consequence of the kings' solarization.

Pyramid Name

It is appropriate to assume all Egyptian pyramids were given a name at build time, but the only evidence we have of pyramid names goes from Sneferu (Fourth Dynasty) to Amenemhat III (Twelfth Dynasty). Not all of them were finished and, thus, lack a name.

Solar Temple Name

As well as the pyramids, the Solar Temples built during the Fifth Dynasty had a name. Even though we have records in documentation for 6 or 7 solar temples, only 2 have been identified.

Hyksos Name

During the 2nd Intermediate Period, the kings of Fifteenth Dynasty were foreign kings, from the Canaan region who conquered and reigned in the northern part of Egypt. These rulers were known with the title of Heka Hasut (hqa-hswt).

Great Priest of Amun Name

During the 3rd Intermediate Period, several Great Priests of Amun ruled in Upper Egypt (mainly at Thebes) as kings and thus they kept that title in their royal names.

Related tools

King Finder

Find any Egyptian king or queen by selecting the hieroglyphic icons in their name. Any name. Right from your device while travelling in Egypt or visiting museums Worldwide.

Go to King Finder

Usage statistics

Discover which hieroglyphic icons were used most frequently in each dynasty and which kings and queens used them in their names as well as other related statistical information.

Go to Statistics

Chronology

Even though chronology is not the goal of this application, we found that having an updated ancient Egyptian chronological and comparative table would be very useful.

Go to Chronology