How to Say "King" and "Queen" in 15 Fictional and Ancient Languages
In 2012, a few years into Game of Thrones, "Khaleesi" started appearing on real birth certificates in the United States. It's not even a name — it's a Dothraki title, meaning the wife of a khal. That's how powerful a single royal word can be.
Here's how to say "king" and "queen" in 15 languages from fiction and history.
The Counterintuitive Truth: "Queen" Often Isn't the Female Version of "King"
In English, "king" and "queen" look unrelated — and they are. King comes from a word meaning "son of the kin." Queen comes from an old word simply meaning "woman" or "wife."
Many languages do the same: the queen word isn't built from the king word. Dothraki is an exception: khaleesi is built from khal. We call this royal asymmetry: when a language treats the male and female ruler as completely different concepts rather than two forms of one title.
Game of Thrones
1. Dothraki
- Khal — king, warlord
- Khaleesi — queen, wife of a khal
- Khalakka — prince
2. High Valyrian
- Dārys — king
- Dāria — queen
Tolkien's Middle-earth
3. Quenya
- Aran — king
- Tári — queen (as in Elentári, "Star-Queen", a title of Varda)
Aragorn's royal name Elessar is Quenya for "Elfstone."
4. Sindarin
- Aran — king
- Bereth — queen, spouse
- Rîn — crowned lady
The name Aragorn is Sindarin, usually interpreted as "royal valour" — with aran (king) hiding inside it.
5. Tengwar
Write royal titles in the script of Elven kings.
Star Wars and Sci-Fi
6. Mando'a
- Mand'alor — "sole ruler", the leader of all Mandalorians
Mandalorians don't have kings. The Mand'alor is a warlord chosen by strength.
7. Sith
- Darth — title of a Sith Lord
The Sith have no royalty — only masters and apprentices.
8. Na'vi
- Olo'eyktan — clan leader
- Tsahìk — spiritual leader (often the clan leader's partner)
Na'vi leadership is split between political and spiritual roles.
9. Kryptonian
The House of El ruled no kingdom — but Kryptonian nobility still matters in Superman lore.
Games
10. Dovahzul (Skyrim)
- Thur — overlord
- Thuri — "my overlord"
After his capture, the dragon Odahviing addresses the Dragonborn as Thuri.
Ancient Languages
11. Old English
- Cyning — king (source of "king")
- Cwēn — queen (source of "queen")
The Anglo-Saxon kings of England used cyning in their charters. Cwēn originally meant "woman" or "wife."
12. Old Norse
- Konungr — king
- Dróttning — queen
Modern Swedish still uses kung and drottning.
13. Japanese Kanji
- 王 (ō) — king
- 女王 (joō) — queen, literally "woman king"
Here the queen word is built from the king word — the opposite of English.
14. Egyptian Hieroglyphics
The pharaoh's name was written inside a cartouche, an oval that marked royal names. Try writing your own royal name.
15. Shakespearean English
- My liege — my lord and king
- Your Grace / Your Majesty
"Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown." (Henry IV, Part 2)
Quick Reference Table
| Language | King | Queen |
|---|---|---|
| Dothraki | Khal | Khaleesi |
| High Valyrian | Dārys | Dāria |
| Quenya | Aran | Tári |
| Sindarin | Aran | Bereth |
| Old English | Cyning | Cwēn |
| Old Norse | Konungr | Dróttning |
| Kanji | 王 | 女王 |
The Khaleesi Effect
According to US Social Security Administration data, Khaleesi was given to hundreds of American babies per year at its peak in the late 2010s, and Arya climbed into the top 200 girls' names. This is title-to-name migration: when a fictional title becomes a personal name through fandom.
It isn't new. The name Rex (Latin "king") and Regina (Latin "queen") have been names for centuries. Fantasy simply speeds it up.
Where Royal Words Are Heading
Fantasy series keep introducing new royal titles, and fans keep adopting them. We predict at least one more fictional royal title will become a mainstream baby name within the next decade, most likely from a high-budget streaming series with a strong female ruler at its centre.