Popes
of the Roman Catholic Church
(since the American Revolution)
| Name | Papacy | Length |
| Pius the Sixth | February 15, 1775 - August 29, 1799 | 24 years, 6 months, 14 d. |
| Vacant | August 29, 1799 - March 14, 1800 | 6 months, 16 d. |
| Pius the Seventh | March 14, 1800 - August 20, 1823 | 23 years, 5 months, 6 d. |
| Vacant | August 20, 1823 - September 28, 1823 | 1 month, 8 d. |
| Leo the Twelfth | September 28, 1823 - Feburary 10, 1829 | 5 years, 4 months, 10 d. |
| Vacant | Feburary 10, 1829 - March 31, 1829 | 1 month, 21 d. |
| Pius the Eighth | March 31, 1829 - November 30, 1830 | 1 year, 7 months, 29 d. |
| Vacant | November 30, 1830 - February 2, 1831 | 2 months |
| Gregory the Sixteenth | February 2, 1831 - June 1, 1846 | 15 years, 3 months, 29 d. |
| Vacant | June 1, 1846 - June 16, 1846 | 15 d. |
| Pius the Ninth | June 16, 1846 - February 7, 1878 | 31 years, 7 months, 19 d. |
| Vacant | February 7, 1878 - February 20, 1878 | 13 d. |
| Leo the Thirteenth | February 20, 1878 - July 20, 1903 | 25 years, 5 months |
| Vacant | July 20, 1903 - August 4, 1903 | 15 d. |
| Pius the Tenth | August 4, 1903 - August 20, 1914 | 11 years, 16 d. |
| Vacant | August 20, 1914 - September 3, 1914 | 13 d. |
| Benedict the Fifthteenth | September 3, 1914 - January 22, 1922 | 7 years, 4 months, 19 d. |
| Vacant | January 22, 1922 - February 12, 1922 | 18 d. |
| Pius the Eleventh | February 12, 1922 - February 10, 1939 | 16 years, 11 months, 26 d. |
| Vacant | February 10, 1939 - March 2, 1939 | 23 d. |
| Pius the Twelfth | March 2, 1939 - October 9, 1958 | 19 years, 7 months, 7 d. |
| Vacant | October 9, 1958 - October 28, 1958 | 19 d. |
| John the Twenty-third | October 28, 1958 - June 3, 1963 | 4 years, 7 months, 5 d. |
| Vacant | June 3, 1963 - June 21, 1963 | 17 d. |
| Paul the Sixth | June 21, 1963 - August 6, 1978 | 15 years, 1 month, 16 d. |
| Vacant | August 6, 1978 - August 26, 1978 | 20 d. |
| John Paul the First | August 26, 1978 - September 28, 1978 | 1 month, 2 d. |
| Vacant | September 28, 1978 - October 16, 1978 | 19 d. |
| John Paul the Second | October 16, 1978 - April 2, 2005 | 26 years, 5 months, 16d. |
| Vacant | April 2, 2005 - April 19, 2005 | 17 d. |
| Benedict the Sixteenth | April 19, 2005 - |
| BONUS- Other Popes who were the last ones to use their special pope-name: |
Popes with generally succesful names (<5)
- Clement the
Fourteenth (died 1774)
- Innocent the Thirteenth (1724)
- Alexander the Eighth (1691)
- Urban the Eighth (1644)
- Sixtus the Fifth (1590)
- Adrian the
Sixth (1523)
- Nicholas the Fifth (1455)
- Martin the Fifth (1431)
- Boniface the Ninth (1401)
- Stephen the Ninth (1058)
Popes with names that have proven less popular (>5)
- Marcellus the
Second (1555)
- Julius the Third (1555)
- Callixtus the Third (1458)
- Eugene the Fourth (1447)
- Honorius the Fourth (1287)
- Celestine the Fourth (1241)
- Lucius the Third (1185)
- Anastasius the Fourth (1154)
- Honorius the Second (1130)
- Callixtus the Second (1124)
- Gelasius the Second (1119)
- Paschal the Second (1118)
- Victor the Third (1087)
- Damasus the Second (1048)
- Sylvester the Third (1045)
- Sergius the Fourth (1012)
- Agapetus the Second (955)
- Marinus
the Second (946)
- Theodore the Second (897)
- Adeodatus the Second (676)
- Pelagius the Second (590)
Popes with names that no one else wanted
- Lando the First
(914)
- Romanus the First (897)
- Formosus the First (896)
- Valentine the First (827)
- Zachary the First (752)
- Constantine the First (715)
- Sisinnius the First (708)
- Conon the First (687)
- Agatho the First (681)
- Donus the First (678)
- Vitalian the First (672)
- Sabinian the First (606)
- Vigilius the First (555)
- Silverius the First (537)
-Hormisdas the First (523)
-Symmachus the First (514)
[rest of list cancelled out of extreme boredom. You get the idea, a lot of popes had stupid names.]
"Q and A" session
Q: I plan to become pope someday. When choosing my special pope name, is it proper etiquette to only choose a name that has been used in the last 100 years?
A: No, this is a common misconception. It arises from the fact that most popes of the last 200 years have been named "Pius" and they've all ruled within at least 30 years of another one (except Pius VI). The other popes, however, have all generally chosen names at least 200 years old.
Here is a chart showing the naming trend:
| Pope and predecessor | Gap in name usage |
| Benedict 15 / Benedict 16 | 83 years |
| John Paul 1 / John Paul 2 | 1 month |
| Paul 5 / Paul 6 | 342 years |
| John 22 / John 23 | 623 years |
| Pius 12 / Pius 11 | 23 days |
| Pius 11 / Pius 10 | 25 years |
| Benedict 15 / Benedict 14 | 156 years |
| Pius 10 / Pius 9 | 25 years |
| Leo 13 / Leo 12 | 48 years |
| Pius 9 / Pius 8 | 15 years |
| Gregory 15 / Gregory 16 | 207 years |
| Pius 8 / Pius 7 | 5 years |
| Leo 12 / Leo 11 | 218 years |
| Pius 7 / Pius 6 | 6 months |
| Pius 6 / Pius 5 | 202 years |