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->'''King Vegeta:''' What's all the commotion about?\\
'''Butarega:''' [Bardock] has been telling everyone that Freeza plans to destroy Vegeta!\\
'''King Vegeta:''' Wait... my son, the planet, or me?
-->-- ''WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged'', calling attention to the {{Exaggerat|edTrope}}ion of the trope in the [[Anime/DragonBallZ source material]]


In many works of fiction, the ruler of a country or piece of land will often share his surname with the land itself. There can be a few reasons--the country may have been named by the ruler after himself, or the ruler may be an outsider who took the country's name as his 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 he comes to power.

This practice comes from the old Western European naming convention, before the introduction of modern family names, to refer to people as " of ", such as Henry of York. Later in the medieval period this became known as a "territorial surname" and was used to specifically note that the person was a landowner or noble of some sort. On the other hand, the country might in fact have been named after the dynasty that rules or ruled it--the Principality of Liechtenstein, for example, is named after the ruling House of Liechtenstein ... which in turn is named after its ancestral home in Castle Liechtenstein, Austria. 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.

Compare {{Egopolis}}.
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!Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* In ''Anime/CodeGeass'', all Britannian royalty has the last name "Britannia" with some prefix, like "di Britannia" or "li Britannia".
* All four of the kingdoms that show up in ''Anime/DogDays'' (Biscotti Republic, Galette Dominion, Duchy of Pastillage, and Halver Kingdom) share their surnames with their respective ruling families.
* In ''Anime/DragonBallZ'', all the kings who rule Planet Vegeta are named Vegeta themselves, though it's a bit of a moot point now since Planet Vegeta got blown up. The current Vegeta is Vegeta IV, while his father was King Vegeta III, [[{{Egopolis}} who had renamed the planet after himself after conquering it]].
* In ''Literature/TheFamiliarOfZero'', the princess and later queen of the country of Tristain is named Henrietta de Tristain; meaning Henrietta of Tristain.
* {{Averted}} in ''Manga/TheRoseOfVersailles'': by tradition the King and Queen of France are just "Louis" and "Marie Antoinette" and don't have surnames, surnames serve to tell everyone else who share the name from ''them'', who don't use even the names of their noble houses (Bourbon and Hapsburg-Lorraine respectively). This becomes a plot point during the Affair of the Diamond Necklace, as letters signed "Marie Antoinette of France" are immediately identified as fakes, and again during the French Revolution, when them having no family name allows the revolutionaries to force the surname "Capet" on them (after Hugh Capet, founder of the Capetian Dynasty the House of Bourbon was part of) as a furher insult.
* The planetary senshi of ''Manga/SailorMoon'', when in their princess forms, are known as 'Princess (Planet)', ex: Princess Mercury, Princess Venus, Princess Uranus, etc.
* In ''Manga/TheSevenDeadlySins'', Princess Elizabeth Liones and the rest of the royal family share their surname with the name of their kingdom, Liones.
* ''Literature/{{Slayers}}'': The entire Seyruunian/[[InconsistentSpelling Saillunean]] royal family has names ending with "Seyruun". Amelia, for example, is Amelia Wil Tesla Seyruun.
* The Imperial House of Jurai from ''Anime/TenchiMuyo'' all take 'Jurai' as a surname after bonding with with a [[CoolShip tree ship]], which is part of the succession laws. This results in Jurai royalty having double surnames, since before attaching "Jurai" they already have the surname of one of the four branches of the family (Masaki, Kamiki, Amaki or Tatsuki).
* ''Anime/TheVisionOfEscaflowne'': Van Fanel, King of Fanelia
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* Franchise/TheDCU
** ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1987'': The kreel emperor of the Sangtee Empire is known only as Emperor Sangtee or the Sangtee Empire, and no proper name is used for them outside of their title.
** The country of Markovia, homeland of heroes Terra and Geo-Force, is ruled by the Markov dynasty.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Film -- Animated]]
* ''Anime/CastleInTheSky'': Both Sheeta and Muska have the true surname [[spoiler:"Laputa", which marks them as descendants of the titular kingdom's royal family.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Film -- Live Action]]
* Both the original ''Film/TheWickerMan1973'' and the [[Film/TheWickerMan2006 2006 remake]] have these; the former being Lord Summerisle, the latter being Sister Summerisle.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* ''{{Series/Blackadder}}'': In the first series, Edmund attempts to get out of his marriage to the Infanta of Spain by dressing garishly to make her think he's gay, apparently modelling his fashion after the Earl of Doncaster. This leads to his father greeting him (in usual {{Creator/BRIANBLESSED}} fashion) with "'''MORNING, DONCASTER!!!'''"
* ''Series/DoctorWho'': In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS9E2TheCurseOfPeladon The Curse of Peladon]]" and its sequel story "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS11E4TheMonsterOfPeladon The Monster of Peladon]]", the ambassador from 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 "The Curse of Peladon" only, the King of Peladon is named simply "Peladon".
* In ''Series/StargateSG1'', Master Bra'tac constantly refers to General Hammond as "Hammond of Texas". It isn't so much this trope here, though, than the Jaffa formal way of addressing a peer (Jaffa don't have family names, and use instead their places of origin). When O'Neill first talked to Bra'tac about the General, he mentioned he was from Texas, and it stuck.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* ''Literature/AscendanceOfABookworm'': Duchies are named after the ruling noble family. Thus, the Ehrenfest duchy and its capital are named after the archducal house Ehrenfest.
* In the ''Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar'' series, the Kingdom of Valdemar is named after its first ruler, King Kordas Valdemar. He in turn was Duke Kordas of the Duchy of Valdemar (demoted to Baron just before leaving) in the [[TheEmpire Eastern Empire]], which he fled with his people when it became too despotic. When they settled, they insisted that he crown himself and named the land after him. His surname is taken from his former duchy, and so his people were already accustomed to thinking of the land as "Valdemar" and themselves as Valdemarans.
* In ''Literature/{{Hurog}}'', the family who rules the land Hurog lives in castle Hurog, and is called Hurog. The head of the family is called "Hurogmeten", but that's just indicating that he's the ruler.
* 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. [[ContinuitySnarl Depending on the backstory of the given book]], male rulers are always named Oz and female rulers are always named Ozma, so the Wizard arriving in a hot air balloon emblazoned with "OZ" is why the citizens declared him ruler in the first place.
* In ''Literature/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.
* So many from ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire''. Some examples:
** The North: The Cerwyns of Cerwyn.
** Westerlands: The Baneforts of Banefort.
** Crownlands: The Hayfords of Hayford.
** Iron Islands: The Blacktydes of Blacktyde.
** Reach: The Hightowers of the High Tower.
** Dorne: The Blackmonts of Blackmont.
** Riverlands: The Darrys of Darry.
** The Vale: The Redforts of Redfort.
* In the ''Literature/TerraIgnota'' series, King Isabel Carlos II of Spain is almost exclusively called just Spain by both the narrator and his fellow heads of state due to being the only one without any proper last name to fall back on.
* In ''Literature/TheTraitorBaruCormorant'', all the dukes and duchesses of Aurdwynn are named after their duchies to the point where the names of the duchies are used as if they were their personal names: Duke Oathsfire of Oathsfire becomes just Oathsfire, Duchess Nayauru of Nayauru becomes just Nayauru, and so on. The only exception is Duchess Tain Hu of Vultjag, who sports a first and last name but is also vastly more important to the narrator.
* In ''Literature/WillOfHeaven'', characters are usually referred to as whatever they're king/emperor of.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* The ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'' setting flipflops on this with regard 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 ''TabletopGame/{{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.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Anbennar}}'': After a former slave named Castan founded the empire that would be known as [[{{Egopolis}} Castanor or Castan's Empire]], every subsequent emperor took the name Castan upon ascension (while known by their regnal number during their reign, most of them would become known as "Castan the [Something]" or "Castan [Something]" after something that stood out about their reign, to help keep them apart -- for example, the first became known as Castan the Progenitor while the last became known as Castan the Enthralled). The tradition is restored if Castanor is refounded in-game, although for mechanical reasons it isn't properly represented[[note]]there isn't any command that can rename a monarch, so the re-founder keeps their non-Castan name despite, lore-wise, becoming Castan LIV, and if dynastic succession is adopted the player can simply name their heir something other than Castan[[/note]]
* In ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireII'', the surname of the party's magic user Nina is given as Windia, which happens to also be the kingdom she's the princess of.
* The monarchs of Guardia in ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'' in the years 600 and 1000 are known only as King Guardia XXI and King Guardia XXXIII, respectively.
* In ''VideoGame/CrusaderKingsII'', nomadic khagans and rulers of Arabic, Turkish, Indian, Tibetan, and Han cultures (and the offscreen Emperor of China in the ''Jade Dragon'' expansion) have the country named after their dynasty, e.g. the Abbasid Empire. (If there are multiple rulers of the same tier and dynasty, the one with the most realm holdings takes priority and the others are referred to by the actual name of the title, e.g. Arabian Empire as opposed to Abbasid Empire.)
* In ''VideoGame/DarkSouls3'', Prince Lothric shares his name with the kingdom that the game is set in, but it's ambiguous whether he (or anyone) actually ''rules'' it.
* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'':
** The legendary Yokudan ({{Precursors}} to the Redguards) hero and [[TheOrder Ansei]], Frandar Hunding, both plays this straight and inverts it in difference instances. To note:
*** Playing it straight, both Hunding Bay in Hammerfell and Port Hunding on the island of Stros M'Kai are named after him.
*** Also Inverted, as the "Hunding" part of his name refers to the region of Yokuda where he was born. Essentially, these places were named after him, who was already named after a different place.
** There is actually in-universe debate over whether Reman Cyrodiil, the [[FounderOfTheKingdom founder]] of the Second Cyrodiilic Empire, took the name of the country as his surname when he was crowned or if the country is named after him. It is likely that he took the name of the country, which was originally "Cyrod" in the language of the [[AbusivePrecursors Ayleids]].
** As mentioned, there have been three recognized Cyrodiilic Empires in Tamriellic history. To differentiate them, they are often referred to with the name of the ruling dynasty. The first is the Alessian Empire, founded by St. Alessia "[[BornIntoSlavery the Slave Queen]]". The second is the Reman Empire, founded by Reman Cyrodiil. The third is the Septim Empire, founded by [[TheConqueror Tiber Septim]], and is the ruling empire during each game in the series through ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]''. Following the events of ''Oblivion'', the Empire is left without a Septim on the throne and goes into a [[VestigialEmpire steep decline]]. Titus Mede, a local warlord, manages to capture the Imperial Throne and establishes the Mede Dynasty. However, it isn't a true dynasty like the others and generally is not counted among them. It has largely claimed the remaining pieces of the Septim Empire.
** The legendary [[OurElvesAreDifferent Aldmeri]] BoldExplorer and [[WarriorPoet poet]], Topal the Pilot, lends his name to Tamriel's Topal Bay and the Niben River system of Cyrodiil is named after his ship. Ironically, Topal explored the Topal Bay and Niben River system by mistake. After exiting Black Marsh, while trying to get back home to Firsthold, he mistook the "jutting peninsula" of Elsweyr as the mainland sailed north into the Bay and River. Had he known that was a peninsula and sailed around it, he would have gotten home much sooner and never would have explored central Cyrodiil, his most famous accomplishment.
** St. Veloth was the legendary [[OurElvesAreDifferent Chimer]] mystic who led his people [[DefectorFromDecadence away from the decadence]] of the Summerset Isles to their new homeland in Morrowind. The mountain range separating Morrowind from Skyrim is known as the Velothi Mountains in his honor.
* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'':
** ''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, while her husband Rasler shares his surname Nabradia with his kingdom. Averted with the Archadian and Rozarrian Empires; the rulers of Arcadia are House Solidor and the rulers of Rozarria are House Margrace.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'', Noctis has the middle name of Lucis, the name of his kingdom.
* Happens a lot in the ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' series. In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade'' and ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade The Blazing Blade]]'', the marquesses of Lycia are referred to after the provinces they govern, such as Marquess Ostia (being Uther or Hector, depending on the game) or Marquess Pherae (Elbert & Eliwood, respectively) and Lord Pent and his wife Louise are also called Count/Countess Reglay. In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance'', we have Elincia Ridell Crimea, princess (later queen) of Crimea, as well as King Daein (Ashnard) and King Kilvas (Naesala).
* The main setting of the ''VideoGame/GalaxyAngel'' videogames is the Transbaal empire. All of the known members of the royal family bear it as their surname: Emperor Gerald Transbaal (who is killed along with the rest of the royal family in the prologue), Prince Eonia Transbaal (who still uses it despite being exiled five years prior to the first game), and Prince Shiva Transbaal (the last surviving member of the royal family after the coup on the capital).
* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'': A couple games (''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker The Wind Waker]]'', ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild Breath of the Wild]]'') 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 ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword Skyward Sword]]'' reveals that the first Zelda was Hylia's reincarnation and is implied to have resettled Hyrule with humans after the game's end]].
** The final dungeon of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'' is in the long dead eastern kingdom of Ikana. Partway through, you fight the [[DemBones undead skeleton]] of its last king, Igos du Ikana. Judging by this construction, 'du' probably means 'of' in whatever language is spoken in Ikana (probably Hylian), rendering him 'Igos of Ikana'.
** ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast A Link to the Past]]'', ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]'', ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames Oracle of Ages]]'', and ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'' have characters named "King Zora" who rule over Zora's Domain. Also doubles as SpeciesSurname.
* In ''VideoGame/MightAndMagic VI'', several of the lords share names with the ''castles'' they reside in, but the only where it is shared with the nearest settlement or the region is Castle Ironfist (which is ''definitely'' of the place-named-for-family variety, as the local Ironfist branch comes from a lord who accidentally fled to another world after a failed usurpation attempt, and then unified the Kingdom of Enroth in his new home after building a new seat).
* In ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneySpiritOfJustice'', members of the Kingdom of Khura'in's royal family also bear the surname Khura'in.
* Asbel and Hubert from ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces'' have the last name Lhant, the same name as their hometown which their family rules over, though Hubert subverts this trope after being adopted by the Oswell family and taking on their last 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.
* European magazines covering the ''VideoGame/StriderArcade'' misreported the name of the BigBad as Lord Eurasia for some reason, instead of Grandmaster Meio or The Grandmaster. While he does rule Eurasia and even namedrops it in-game, how anyone could have mistaken the name of a landmass to be his name remains a mystery.
* In ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', the isle and city of Mechagon are named after King Mechagon, the mad king of the Mechagnomes.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* Averted in ''{{Webcomic/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" refers to the spin you put on the cue ball.
* In ''Webcomic/AMagicalRoommate'', Aylia is properly named Aylia of Umbria because she's a member of the royal family of Umbria. However, in the other mundane world, she drops the 'of' and reluctantly uses Umbria as her surname.
[[/folder]]

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

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/MightyDucksTheAnimatedSeries'': In "The Most Dangerous Duck Hunt", Baron von Licktenstamp rules over his tiny island of... Licktenstamp. His island country is also a source of the very rare mineral Solaranite; the ducks are invited to a hunt on the island while investigating how Dragaunus got his claws on some.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Real Life]]
* Saudi Arabia, ruled by the Saud dynasty. Really, Saudi Arabia only means "the parts of Arabia ruled by clan Al-Saud".
* Liechtenstein, ruled by the princely House of Liechtenstein.
* Belgium is ruled by the House of Belgium. Originally they were the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (the same German royal family that the current British royals descend from), but in UsefulNotes/WorldWarI the German association became very unwelcome when Germany invaded Belgium. The Belgian branch of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha thus renamed themselves the House of Belgium, a name that's been retained ever since.
* Though he formally has no surname, the British Prince William, in his military career, uses the surname Wales because he is the son of King Charles III, then Prince of Wales. The same goes for the rest of his family. His brother is known as Captain Harry Wales.[[labelnote:Further explanation]]The actual rules of this are a bit more complicated, and have to do with how far down the line of succession an individual is. Beginning with Harry's children, the surname Mountbatton-Windsor (the combined house names of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip) is given to all male-line descendants of the Queen and Consort. Children of female descendants instead use the surnames of their father. However, long-standing tradition is that when a royal needs to use a surname (most frequently for military service, which has for centuries been expected of all male royals who are physically capable of it) they should use the name of whatever is the highest-ranking title they currently hold. Or if they don't personally hold a unique title yet (as was the case for William and Harry during their time in service; it was only afterward that they were made the Duke of Cambridge and Duke of Sussex, respectively) they use their father's highest title. Mountbatton-Windsor is also used anytime a surname is needed and there isn't a Lord Country title available.[[/labelnote]]
* As many Shakespeare plays show, this actually has some basis in reality. In the history plays, for example, monarchs address their fellow monarchs as (say) "our fair cousin Dauphin". In this case, the Dauphin is the ruler of the Dauphinois, which is traditionally ruled by the heir to France. Similarly, one might speak of the king of France simply as "France" since, by medieval understanding, the country is nothing but the entirety of land held sovereignly in fief to the king.
* Territorial surnames are still in informal use among British Peers, but only among equals. For example, an earl may address Hugh Clayton Lowther, 8th Earl of Lonsdale, simply as "Lonsdale", but a duke (which is a higher rank) or a baron (which is a lower rank) may not. However, anyone may (and in most cases should) address or refer to a peer with a territorial designation by the title "Lord/Lady [Territory]"; thus anyone could call the Earl of Lonsdale "Lord Lonsdale," and in fact, if you are ''not'' calling him something along the lines of "the 8th Earl of Lonsdale" or at least "the Earl of Lonsdale" (which are more formal constructions), it's really the only acceptable option unless you are very close to the peer in question. Though almost all of them also have seperate family surnames from their title, with the aforementioned Lord Lonsdale's being Lowther.
** To make matters more confusing, some of them will switch between multiple titles during their lives. For example, the Marquess of Headfort usually has their heir apparent use the title of Earl of Bective, one of their subsidiary titles, sometimes even using Bective in place of their actual last name, Taylour (though that also comes down to ''all of them'' being named some variation of Thomas Taylour).
** The family name of the Earls of Coventry is literally "Coventry."
* [[UsefulNotes/DynastiesFromShangToQing Chinese dynasties]] before the Mongol conquest almost universally took their names from the state or fief from which the first ruler of the dynasty had arisen. For instance, the Han dynasty took its name from the state of Han (in what is now Sichuan) that its founder Liu Bang/Emperor Gaozu of Han had ruled in the aftermath of the fall of the Qin (even though he was originally from the state of Chu in what is now Jiangsu), while the Tang dynasty took is name from the fief of Tang, of which its founder Li Zhi/Emperor Gaozong of Tang had been duke under the Sui dynasty. This applied as much to the dynasties that ruled the smaller states that controlled China during its periods of division as much as the big dynasties of united China; of the various dynasties established from the Qin in 221 BCE through the Song (established 960 CE, conquered by the Mongols 1279), only one, the Chen dynasty that ruled southern China 557-589 CE (during the late Northern and Southern Dynasties era) before being gobbled up by the Sui, took its name from the personal name of the ruling family, or indeed anything other than the ruling family's "home" territory. However, when the Mongols completed their conquest and Kublai Khan decided he wanted to rule as a Chinese emperor, he did not use a territorial name, but rather the word "Yuan," whose meaning is complex but can roughly be translated "origin." Its two successor dynasties followed suit, calling themselves the Ming ("bright") and Qing ("pure") rather than use territorial designations. That being said, the royal houses retained their original surnames and junior members (i.e. ones who were not the Emperor) used them in daily life (so, e.g., Emperor Wen of Han was originally Liu Heng before he [[UnexpectedSuccessor somewhat unexpectedly became Emperor]]).
* Bosnia and Herzegovina is an interesting variant, where Bosnia comes from the main ethnic group, Bosnians, and Herzegovina means "Herzog's land", with Herzog being a loan word from German meaning "Duke". Herzegovina remained as an ArtifactTitle even as the country no longer had aristocracy.
[[/folder]]
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