Many monarchs are remembered for magnificent deeds with traditional nicknames that point to their greatness — Alexander the Great, Catherine the Great, Constantine the Great, Alfred the Great. All pretty great. Or you could be Charles the Fair, or Good King Edward, or Augustus the Strong. 

Not all royal nicknames are flattering, however. A good number of monarchs are remembered for notable physical traits that they would probably have preferred to have gone unnoticed, or at least unremarked upon. The last of the Carolingian emperors, Charles III, was known as Charles the Fat, though he wasn’t given that name in his lifetime. It might reflect that, as ThoughtCo explains, Charles III was constantly ill and low on ambition and energy compared to the other emperors in his line. His predecessor Charles II is known as Charles the Bald, which seems to have been an ironic joke, as history seems to indicate he had a full head of hair and a beard. 

Other hair-related nicknames include Albrecht III, Duke of Austria, who was known as “Albert with the Pigtail” for the long braid he wore. Count Wilfred I of Barcelona is known as “Wilfred the Hairy,” as medieval chronicles describe him as “hairy in places not normally so in men.” Bernard II of Auvergne was known as “Bernard the Hairy-Footed,” but no one really knows why. Other monarchs were known for being short, like Olaf the Dwarf, Pepin the Short, and Wladyslaw the Elbow-High. Domnall the Speckled was nicknamed for his freckles.

Royal nicknames based on physical and mental conditions

Jan Bogumil Jacobi/Wikimedia Commons

Royal nicknames earned by behavior

James William Edmund Doyle/Wikipedia

The worst of the worst

Wikipedia

Not everyone can be “the Great.” Some monarchs are so well-known for awful behavior that they are remembered quite differently. Probably the most notable of these are England’s Bloody Mary, which name History explains is due to her persecution of Protestants, and Russia’s Ivan the Terrible, but that name really signifies him being terrifying, not necessarily evil. William the Bad of Sicily’s name probably indicates a historical bias against him rather than any actual action on his part. In contrast, Berenguer Ramon II, known as “the Fratricide,” probably did actually murder his twin brother in a forest. Eric II of Norway received the name “the Priest-Hater” for his less than sensational relationship with the church. Similarly, the Byzantine emperor Constantine V was called “the Dung-Named” by his enemies because of his over-the-top opposition to the use of religious imagery. Another scatalogical nickname was applied to James II of England when he deserted his Irish supporters – Seamus an Chaca, which means James the, uh, Poop.

Eric V of Denmark was called “the Short-Changer” for his untrustworthiness, and Ferdinand II of Naples was called “the Bomb,” not because he was cool in the 90s but for his excessive bombardment of a political uprising in Messina. Piero di Lorenzo de’ Medici was called “the Unfortunate” for his cowardice and inefficacy in battle, and France’s Louis the XVIII was called “the Unavoidable,” as he was considered the only option to reclaim the throne from Napoleon despite his ill health.