When referring to a historical leader, we don't call say Winston, Julius, Adolf, Josef, or Zedong. But we do say Napoleon. How did that happen?

by HeyItsMau

Is it as simple as Napoleon is a unique enough first name?

davepx

It's his name as Emperor - Napoleon I. Before 1804 he's plain Napoleon Bonaparte. It's the same usage as King George, King Louis etc.

Lazar_Taxon

It should be noted that Julius was not Caesar's first name. His full name was Gaius Julius Caesar – Gaius was his praenomen, his true given name; Julius was his nomen, identifying his gens or family; and Caesar was his cognomen, an additional hereditary name identifying his branch of that family.

Second_Mate

At the time in Britain he was never referred to as Napoleon as that would have implied recognition of his self-awarded status. If referred to in anything official he was plain Bonaparte, or General Bonaparte at best.