Why is John a Popular Papal Name but not Matthew, Luke, and Mark?

[DC Al Fine]

Skimming through a list of Popes, I realized that there was no Matthew, no Luke and only one Mark. At first I thought this was out of a sense of respect (like there probably won't be a Pope Jesus) for some prominent early Christians, but then I realized that there were 6 Pope Pauls and 23 Pope Johns!

So why do Popes avoid Matthew/Luke/Mark?

[John Dibble]

Because the name John is awesome?

[Sic Semper Fascistis]

I think most popes, out of respect for tradition or maybe just laziness, chose to reuse the names of their predecessors. Once you had the first John, this paved the way for the following 22. On the other hand, it turns out that among the few innovators, none of them chose names like Matthew, Luke or Mark. Probably just by chance.

[anvi]

I had to do a little digging, but apparently there was a pope Mark, though he only reigned for a few months before he died in 336.  But yeah, popes seem to take their names in honor of predecessors, and the only name that no one has taken a second of is Peter's.  But I don't know why Luke and Matthew have not been chosen--interesting question.

[Blue3]

Most of the names of the Apostles have never become Papal names either. No Andrew, Simon, Phillip, Thomas, James, etc.


There have been plenty that were taken only once.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papal_name


Weird ones like Julius and Lucius that have been taken 3 times.
Also some one-hit wonders like Lando, Hilarius, and Dionysius.



Most Popes reuse old names because they want to signify which Papal tradition they'll follow. For example, a Pius is usually conservative, a Leo is usually a social activist, etc.

[Mr.Bakari-Sellers]

Because both Johns were awesome towards Christ for baptism and worship.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

John is usually considered to be the one referred to as the most beloved of Jesus, so that likely played a role as well.

[Beet]

I always thought that John was to the New Testament what Deuteronomy is to the Pentateuch? It goes over the same ground as the others but in a much more advanced way. When I was first converting to Christianity, one of my mentors said you should start reading the Bible with John.

[Oldiesfreak1854]

We've only had two John Pauls, but what about John Peter?  I guess that would be considered disrespectful to Peter as the first Pope.

[pbrower2a]

That there had not been a Francis, name of the most popular of Renaissance or later saints, is a surprise.

[Tokugawa Sexgod Ieyasu]

That there had not been a Francis, name of the most popular of Renaissance or later saints, is a surprise.

Francis of Assisi (1182-1226) is hardly 'Renaissance or later', but point taken.

[The Mikado]

That there had not been a Francis, name of the most popular of Renaissance or later saints, is a surprise.

Francis of Assisi (1182-1226) is hardly 'Renaissance or later', but point taken.

I thought he was named after St. Francis Xavier, not St. Francis of Assisi?

[RI]

That there had not been a Francis, name of the most popular of Renaissance or later saints, is a surprise.

Francis of Assisi (1182-1226) is hardly 'Renaissance or later', but point taken.

I thought he was named after St. Francis Xavier, not St. Francis of Assisi?

Nope, it was St. Francis of Assisi.