History Main / LordCountry

* In ''Manga/NanatsuNoTaizai'', Princess Elizabeth Liones and the rest of the royal family share their surname with the name of their kingdom, Liones.

* Liechtenstein, ruled by several Princes Liechtenstein.

* ''DoctorWho''. In "The Curse of Peladon" and its sequel episode, the ambassador to Alpha Centauri is just called Alpha Centauri. Presumably this was done by the writers to give a Shakespearean feel to all the courtly intrigue.
* In ''StargateSG1'', Master Bra'tac constantly refers to General Hammond as "Hammond of Texas," likely in deference to this trope.

* In ''Manga/NanatsuNoTaizai'', Princess Elizabeth Liones and the rest of the royal family share their surname with the name of their kingdom.

* ''LightNovel/Slayers'': The entire Seyruunian/[[SpellMyNameWithAnS Saillunean]] royal family has names ending with "Seyruun". Amelia, for example, is Amelia Wil Tesla Seyruun.

* Saudi Arabia, ruled by the Saud dynasty.

* Territorial surnames are still in informal use among British Peers, but only among equals. For example, an earl may adress Hugh Clayton Lowther, 8th Earl of Lonsdale, simply as "Lonsdale", but a duke or a baron may not.

* In ''Anime/DragonBallZ'', Vegeta is named after his planet.

[[folder]]

[[folder: Webcomics]]
* Averted in {{Homestuck}}. [[BigBad Lord English]] is not the lord of England, or really even all that English to begin with. [[spoiler: He's a space alien]]. Lord English (as well as his minions) are all billiards-themed gangsters, and the term "english", referring to the spin you put on the cue ball.

* ''DoctorWho''. In "The Curse of Peladon" and its sequel episode, the ambassador to Alpha Centauri is just called Alpha Centauri. Presumably this was done by the writers to give a Shakespearean feel to the CourtlyIntrigue.

This practice comes from the old naming convention to refer to nobility as "<name> of <land>", such as Henry of York. This was known as a "territorial surname" and was used to specifically note that the person was a landowner or noble of some sort. In fiction this can occur due to authors not having knowledge of noble houses, or the proper history behind territorial surnames. In short, it's simply easy to name the ruler of a country after the country, because it saves the writer getting into the politics of the political houses and it's easier to remember for the reader.

* Though he formally has no surname, the British Prince William, in his military career, uses the surname Wales because he is the Prince of Wales. The same goes for the rest of his family. His brother is known as Captain Harry Wales.

* The Empire in ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' is sometimes called the Septim Empire after the surname of its royal family through ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]''. This is mainly to distinguish it from two previous Empires in the setting.

This practice comes from the old naming conventioin to refer to nobility as "<name> of <land>", such as Henry of York. This was known as a "territorial surname" and was used to specifically note that the person was a landowner or noble of some sort. In fiction this can occur due to authors not having knowledge of noble houses, or the proper history behind territorial surnames. In short, it's simply easy to name the ruler of a country after the country, because it saves the writer getting into the politics of the political houses and it's easier to remember for the reader.

[[AC:Anime]]

* TheSlayers: The entire Seyruunian/[[SpellMyNameWithAnS Saillunean]] royal family has names ending with "Seyruun". Amelia, for example, is Amelia Wil Tesla Seyruun.

[[AC:Film]]
* ''TheWickerMan'': Both the 1973 original and the 2006 remake have these; the former being Lord Summersisle, the latter being Sister Summersisle.

[[AC:Literature]]
* In ''TheQueensThief'', the monarchs of the three countries (Sounis, Eddis, Attolia) are identified by the country each of them rules. They all do have individual birth names, though.
* The Literature/LandOfOz is at first ruled by the Wizard, who calls himself Oz. We later learn that the land was already called Oz before he got there and the fact that the Wizard was also named Oz was a coincidence. The Wizard thought they had named the country after him. From the second book onward, Oz is ruled by a princess named Ozma.

[[AC:Tabletop Games]]

* In ''{{Traveller}}'', the head of an Aslan clan is identified by the name of his clan. When distinguished from his clan as an individual the syllable "ko"("chief" or literally "himself") is added. That is the head of Coolclan is formally either Coolclan or Coolclanko.

[[AC:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'', Tycoon is ruled by Alexander Highwind Tycoon and Karnak is ruled by Queen Karnak.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'', Edger Roni Figaro rules the kingdom of Figaro.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'', the royal family of Alexandria bear the name "Alexandros". Both double as foreshadowing of the kingdom's guardian [[SummonMagic Eidolon]], [[LightEmUp Alex]][[HumongousMecha ander]].
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'', Ashe's last name is Dalmasca. Subverted with the Archadian emperors, who are of House Solidor and use that as their surnames, never using Archadia or any permutation of the name.
* In the ''VideoGame/{{Ultima}}'' series, Lord British rules over Britannia. In this case the land was named after him: He united the land, then called Sosaria, under one banner and rechristened it Britannia.

* The Empire in ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' is sometimes called the Septim Empire after the surname of its royal family through ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]''. This is mainly to distinguish it from two previous Empires in the setting.

[[AC:Web Original]]
* Commander Canada and Commander Canadia from the ''Keegan's Truck'' web series.

[[AC:Real Life]]

* Liechtenstein, ruled by Princes Liechtenstein.

* THeSlayers: The entire Seyruunian /[[SpellMyNameWithAnS Saillunean]] royal family has names ending with "Seyruun". Amelia, for example, is Amelia Wil Tesla Seyruun.

* The entire Seyruunian /[[SpellMyNameWithAnS Saillunean]] royal family has names ending with "Seyruun". Amelia, for example, is Amelia Wil Tesla Seyruun.

* The Empire in ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' is sometimes called the Septim Empire after the surname of its royal family through ''{{Oblivion}}''. This is mainly to distinguish it from two previous Empires in the setting.

In many works of fiction, the ruler of a country or piece of land will often share their surname with the land itself. There can be a few reasons -- the country may have been named by the ruler after themselves, or the ruler may be an outsider who took the country's name as their own to fit in. It may also simply be tradition for the current ruler to take the name of the country as a surname when they come to power.

This practice comes from the old naming conventioin to refer to nobility as "<name> of <land>", such as Henry of York. This was known as a "territorial surname" and was used to specifically note that the person was a landowner or noble of some sort. In fiction this can occur due to authors not having knowledge of noble houses, or the proper history behind territorial surnames. In short, it's simply easy to name the ruler of a country after the country, it saves the writer getting into the politics of the political houses and it's easier to remember for the reader.

[[AC: Anime]]
* ''Anime/CodeGeass'', all Britannian royalty has the last name "Britannia" with some prefix, like "di Britannia" or "li Britannia".
* In ''Anime/DragonBallZ'', Vegeta is named after his planet

[[AC:Film ]]
* ''TheWickerMan'': Both the 1973 original, and 2006 remake have these; the former being Lord Summersisle, the latter being Sister Summersisle.

* In ''TheQueensThief'', the monarchs of the three countries (Sounis, Eddis, Attolia) are referred to by the country they rule. Although they all do have individual names they were born with.
* ''The Literature/LandOfOz'' is at first ruled by the Wizard, who calls himself Oz. We later learn that the land was already called Oz before he got there and the fact that the Wizard was also named Oz was a coincidence. The Wizard thought they had named the country after him. From the 2nd book onward, Oz is ruled by a princess named Ozma.

* The ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'' setting flipflops on this with regards to the city-state of Neverwinter. According to some sources it's called that because its river never freezes (due to being heated by a nearby volcano). Other sources point to it being a truncation of "Never's Winter" after Lord Halueth Never, its earliest ruler.
* In {{Traveller}} the head of an Aslan clan is referred to by the name of his clan. When distinguished from his clan as an individual the syllable "ko"("chief" or literally "himself") is added. That is the head of Coolclan is formally either Coolclan or Coolclanko.

* ''VideoGame/{{Ultima}}'', Lord British rules over Britannia. In this case the land was named after him, he united the land, then called Sosaria, under one banner and rechristened it Britannia.
* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'', a couple games give the royal family of Hyrule the last name Hyrule. Both are justified, as the land was once ruled and protected by the goddess Hylia, [[spoiler:and ''Skyward Sword'' reveals the first Zelda was Hylia's reincarnation and is implied to have resettled Hyrule with humans after the game's end]].
* The monarchs of Guardia in ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'' in 600 AD and 1000 AD are known only as King Guardia XXI and King Guardia XXXIII respectively.

[[AC:Web Original ]]

* Saudi Arabia, ruled by the Saud dynasty

! Examples

!!Anime

!!Film

!!Literature

!!Tabletop Games:

!! Video Games

!!Web Original

!!Real Life

* Though he formally has no surname, the British Prince William, in his military career, uses the surname Wales because he is the Prince of Wales. The same goes for the rest of his family. His brother is known as Captain Harry Wales.

This practice comes from the old naming conventioin to refer to nobility as " of ", such as Henry of York. This was known as a "territorial surname" and was used to specifically note that the person was a landowner or noble of some sort. In fiction this can occur due to authors not having knowledge of noble houses, or the proper history behind territorial surnames. In short, it's simply easy to name the ruler of a country after the country, it saves the writer getting into the politics of the political houses and it's easier to remember for the reader.