This is a list of people whose names in English are commonly appended with the phrase "the Great", or who were called that or an equivalent phrase in their own language. Other languages have their own suffixes such as e Bozorg and e azam in Persian and Urdu respectively.

Introduction

The title "the Great" at first seems to be a simplification/colloquialism of the Persian title "Great King". This title was first used by the conqueror Cyrus II of Persia.

The Persian title was inherited by Alexander III of Macedon (336–323 BC) when he conquered the Persian Empire, and the epithet "Great" eventually became personally associated with him. The first reference (in a comedy by Plautus) assumes that everyone knew who "Alexander the Great" was. However, there is no earlier evidence that Alexander III of Macedon was called "the Great".

The early Seleucid kings, who succeeded Alexander in Persia, used "Great King" in local documents, but the title was most notably used for Antiochus the Great (223–187 BC); probably since he was the only Seleucid king to fight the Romans.

Later rulers and commanders began to use the epithet "the Great" as a personal name, like the Roman general Pompey. Others received the surname retrospectively, like the Carthaginian Hanno and the Indian emperor Ashoka the Great and the Hindu king Sivaji the Great. Once the surname gained currency, it was also used as an honorific surname for people without political careers, like the philosopher Albert the Great.

"The Greats"

The following people normally have the words "the Great" appended to their names.

• Abbas the Great, Persia (Iran)
• Akbar the Great, ruler of the Mughal Empire of South Asia
• Alain I the Great, Albret
• Albert the Great (aka Albertus Magnus), medieval German philosopher and theologian
• Alexander the Great, King of Macedon
• Alfonso the Great of León
• Alfred the Great of Wessex, English
• Anawrahta the Great, Burma
• Anthony the Great, early Christian saint of Egypt
• Antiochus the Great, Seleucid Empire
• Ashoka the Great, Indian emperor of the Maurya dynasty
• Askia the Great, Mohamed Toure, Ruler of the Songhai Empire
• Bayinnaung the Great, Burma
• Bhumibol Adulyadej the Great, Thailand
• Bolesław the Brave, sometimes called "the Great", Poland
• Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke the Great, Thailand
• Canute the Great, Danish, King of Denmark, England, and Norway
• Casimir the Great, Poland
• Catherine the Great, Russia
• Charles the Great, more commonly known as "Charlemagne"
• Chulalongkorn the Great, Thailand
• Constantine the Great, Rome/Byzantium
• Cyrus the Great, Persia (Iran)
• Chandragupta Maurya ,Indian emperor of the Maurya dynasty
• Darius the Great, Persia (Iran)
• Donia the Great - Grote Pier, (1480-1520), Frisia
• Elpitha the great , Greece .
• Ferdinand the Great, Castile and León
• Frederick the Great, Prussia
• Frederick the Great, Holy Roman Empire
• The Great Gama, Rustam-e-Hindustan
• Gertrude the Great of Helfta, medieval mystic
• Gustavus Adolphus the Great, Sweden
• Gwanggaeto the Great of Goguryeo, Korea
• Hanno the Great, Carthage
• Henry IV the Great, France
• Herod the Great, Judea
• Hugh the Great, abbot of Cluny, France
• Ivan the Great, Russia
• John the Great, Portugal
• Justinian the Great, Byzantium
• Kamehameha the Great, Hawai'i
• Kangxi The Great Emperor, Qing Empire (China)
• Karim Khan The Great, Persia (Iran)
• Lachit Borphukan, Assam, (India)
• Llywelyn the Great, Wales/Gwynedd
• Louis the Great, Hungary and Poland
• Louis the Great, France
• Mithridates the Great, Parthia (Iran)
• Mithridates the Great, Pontus
• Moctezuma the Great, Aztec empire
• Mubarak Al-Sabah the Great, Kuwait
• Mutsuhito the Great, Japan
• Nader Shah the Great, Persia (Iran)
• Napoleon the Great, France
• Otto I the Great, Holy Roman Emperor
• Pacal the Great, Maya state of Palenque
• Parâkramabâhu the Great, Sri Lanka
• Petar Krešimir IV the Great, Croatia
• Peter the Great, Russia
• Peter III the Great, Aragon
• Photius the Great, Eastern Orthodox saint and Patriarch of Constantinople
• Pompey the Great, Rome
• Prokop the Great, Hussite leader in Bohemia
• Rajaraja The Great, Indian emperor of the Cholas.
• Ramesses the Great, Ancient Egypt
• Ramkhamhaeng the Great, Thailand
• Rhodri the Great, Wales/Gwynedd
• Sancho III the Great, Navarre
• Sargon the Great, Akkad
• Sejong the Great, Korea
• Shapur the Great, Sassanid empire, Persia (Iran)
• Simeon I the Great, Bulgaria
• Sivaji of India
• Stephen the Great, Moldova, Romania
• St. Basil the Great, theologian, Cappadocia
• St. Gregory the Great, pope
• St. James the Great, apostle
• St. Leo the Great, pope
• Sultan Agung of Mataram, Mataram (Java)
• St. Macarius the Great, Egyptian hermit
• St. Nicholas the Great, pope
• Taksin the Great, Thailand
• Tamburlaine the Great, Timurid Empire
• Theodoric the Great, Ostrogoths
• Theodosius the Great, Rome
• Tigranes the Great, Armenia
• Tiridates the Great, Armenia
• Umar the Great, Arab Muslim Empire
• Valdemar I the Great, Denmark
• Vladimir Svyatoslavich the Great, Russia
• Vytautas the Great, archduke of Lithuanian Grand Duchy
• William V the Great, Aquitaine
• William the Great, Maleval
• Xerxes the Great, Persia (Iran)
• Yu the Great, China

Related

• Muhammad Ali, boxer (The Great)
• Alexandru cel Bun, ("the Kind"), Romanian voivode
• Julio César Chávez, boxer (The Great Mexican Champion)
• Agostino Chigi, il Magnifico ("The Magnificent")
• Ellaalan, ("the Just"), Sri Lanka
• Frederick William of Brandenburg, Großer Kurfürst ("the Great Elector")
• Jackie Gleason (the Great One)
• Elpitha The Great. (Greece)
• Wayne Gretzky (the Great One)
• Lorenzo il Magnifico, ("The Magnificent")
• Lozang Gyatso, 5th Dalai Lama, "The Great Fifth Dalai Lama", Tibet
• Leelavathi Naaichchi, ("the Brave"), Sri Lanka
• Mihai Viteazul, ("the Brave"), Romanian voivode
• Don Muraco, wrestler billed as "The Magnificent Muraco"
• Philip the Good, duke of Burgundy
• Robert the Magnificent, Duke of Normandy
• Eliyahu Rips, Lecturer of Mathematics ("The Great Annihilators lesson")
• The Rock, wrestler/actor (Rocky, also known as The Great One)
• Stefan Dušan, ("The Forceful"), Serbian tzar
• Ştefan cel Mare ("The Great"), voivod of Moldavia
• Stefan Visoki ("The Tall"), Serbian despot
• Suleiman the Magnificent, Ottoman Empire
• Felix Trinidad, boxer (Tito, also known as The Great Puerto Rican Champion)
• The Great Antonio, Canadian giant and actor
• The Great Kat, heavy metal guitarist and violinist
• The Great Khali, professional WWE wrestler (India)
• Mario Lemeiux, "The magnificent"

Fictional characters

• Abdulla the Great.
• Ahlsendar, called the Great King, in the Myst backstory.
• Alice the Great - Fictional character from the animated series, Little Bill
• The Great Brain.
• The Great Caruso.
• The Great Cornholio.
• Edward the Great - title of an Iron Maiden 'greatest hits' album, named after the band's mascot Eddie.
• The Great Gatsby in F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel.
• The Great Gazoo from the cartoon series The Flintstones.
• The Great Gildersleeve.
• Gonzo the Great character from The Muppet Show.
• The Great Jang Geum.
• The Great Leslie from the movie The Great Race (1956)
• The Great Merlini.
• The Great Milenko Insane Clown Posse Joker Card
• Henry the Great aka Henry Saari
• Nate the Great, from the Nate the Great series, by Marjorie W. Sharmat.
• The Great Pumpkin from Peanuts comic strip.
• The Great Rupert from the 1950 film of the same name.
• The Great Santini.
• Sheila the Great from Judy Blume's Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great
• The Great Skeeve from the novels of Robert Asprin
• The Great Suprendo, British TV magic act by Geoffrey Durham.

Notes

See also

• Epithet
• List of monarchs by nickname
• List of nicknames of European Royalty and Nobility: G-I
• Greatest Nationals
• Monarchs