Most popular names for popes, all-time:
- John (XXIII)3
- Gregory (XVI)
- Benedict (XV)1
- Clement (XIV)2
- Innocent (XIII)
- Leo (XIII)
Last Pope to take an original name: Pope John Paul I, 1978. Last pope to take a unique name: Pope Lando, 913-914.
1The second pope of the western schism was Benedict XIII, which puts the number of papal Benedicts at XVI.
2The first pope of the western schism was Clement VII, which puts the number of papal Clements at XV. Of course, the popes at Avignon during the schism aren’t generally counted as ‘official’ popes…
3Further research has uncovered the curious fact that there was no Pope John XX.
One wonders what the Vatican will become when we have Pope John XXX.
It should be noted that the leading candidate for the name of the next pope (whomever he may be) is Pope George Ringo.
When the Pope was in town years back, there were big red buttons with block white letters that screamed JOHN PAUL all over the place. Harder to find - I never did get one - was the clever downtown GEORGE RINGO button. One of two cherished buttons I never got my hands on; the other was the "I Slept with Lydia Lunch" pin. Ah, the Eighties.
Pope Lando, eh? Cloud city, by any chance?
Does your resource (*cough*Google*cough*) give you, by any chance, the name of the second Pope? Not the second elected one, but the one right after Peter. Yep.
Contrary to belief, there also never was a Pope John 3:16.