K'inich Janaab' Pakal - Name

Name

Before his name was securely deciphered from extant Maya inscriptions, this ruler has been known by an assortment of nicknames and approximations, common ones including Pakal (or Pacal), "Sun Shield", "8 Ahau", and (familiarly) as Pacal the Great. The word pakal means "shield" in the Maya language.

In modern sources his name is also sometimes appended with a regnal number, to distinguish him from other Janaab' Pakals that either preceded or followed him in the dynastic lineage of Palenque. Confusingly, he has at times been referred to as either "Pakal I" or "Pakal II". The reference to him as Pakal II takes into account that his maternal grandfather (who died in 612) was also named Janaab' Pakal. However, although his grandfather was a personage of ajaw ranking, he does not himself appear to have been a king. When instead the name Pakal I is used, this serves to distinguish him from two later known successors to the Palenque rulership, Upakal K'inich Janaab' Pakal (ruled c. 742, aka " Pakal II") and Wak Kimi Janaab' Pakal (aka Pakal III), the last-known Palenque ruler who acceded in 799.