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Magnus, meaning "Great" in Latin, was used as cognomen of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus in the first century BC. The best-known use of the name during the Roman Empire is for the fourth-century Western Roman Emperor Magnus Maximus. The name gained wider popularity in the Middle Ages among various European peoples and their royal houses, being introduced to them upon being converted to the Latin-speaking Catholic Christianity. This was especially the case with Scandinavian royalty and nobility.
As a Scandinavian forename, it was extracted from the Frankish ruler Charlemagne's Latin name "Carolus Magnus" and re-analyzed as Old Norse magn-hús = "power house".
People
Given name
Main article: Magnus (given name)Kings of Hungary
- Géza I (1074–1077), also known by his baptismal name Magnus
Kings of Denmark
- Magnus the Good (1042–1047), also Magnus I of Norway
King of Livonia
- Magnus, Duke of Holstein (1540–1583)
King of Mann and the Isles
- Magnús Óláfsson (died 1265)
Kings of Norway
- Magnus I of Norway (1024–1047)
- Magnus II of Norway (1048–1069)
- Magnus III of Norway (1073–1103)
- Magnus IV of Norway (c. 1115–1139)
- Magnus V of Norway (1156–1184)
- Magnus VI of Norway (1238–1280)
- Magnus VII of Norway, also known as Magnus Eriksson (1316–1374)
Kings of Sweden
- Magnus the Strong (c. 1106–1134)
- Magnus Henriksson (died 1161)
- Magnus Ladulås (1240–1290)
- Magnus Eriksson (1316–1374), also Magnus VII of Norway
Dukes
- Magnus, Duke of Saxony (c. 1045–1106)
- Magnus the Pious, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (before 1318–1369)
- Magnus II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1324–1373), also known as Magnus with the Necklace
- Magnus I, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg (1488–1543)
Saints
- Albert Magnus (c.1200–1280), German bishop, philosopher, theologian and scientist
- Magnus (bishop of Milan), bishop of Milan from 518 to c.530
- Magnus Erlendsson, Earl of Orkney, Earl of Orkney 1106–c.1117)
- Magnus of Anagni (2nd century)
- Magnus of Avignon (died 660), bishop and governor of Avignon
- Magnus of Cuneo (3rd century)
- Magnus of Füssen, missionary saint of southern Germany, seventh or eighth century
Family name
- Ailsa Magnus (born 1967), Scottish sculptor
- Désiré Magnus, Belgian pianist
- Elisabeth von Magnus, Austrian singer
- Finn Magnus, Danish-American founder of Magnus Harmonica Corporation
- Heinrich Gustav Magnus, German chemist and physicist who discovered the Magnus effect
- Kurt Magnus (1912–2003), German scientist, expert in the field of applied mechanics, a pioneer of mechatronics
- Kurt Magnus (radio personality) (1887–1962), German lawyer and politician, a pioneer of German radio broadcasting
- Laurie Magnus (1872–1933), English author, journalist, and publisher
- Laurie Magnus (executive) (born 1955), British executive, appointed UK Prime Minister's Independent Adviser on Ministers' Interests in 2022
- Ludwig Immanuel Magnus, German mathematician
- Philip Magnus (1906–1988), British historian
- Paul Wilhelm Magnus, German botanist
- Siobhan Magnus, American singer
- Thomas Magnus (d. 1550), English churchman and diplomat
- Wilhelm Magnus, German mathematician
Ancient Romans
- Pompey Magnus, Roman consul and general who was given the honorific "Magnus"
- Magnus Maximus, Roman usurper and Western Roman Emperor (died 388)
- Montius Magnus, 4th-century Roman quaestor
Pseudonyms, pen names and ring names
- Magnus, pseudonym of American magician Jeff McBride
- Magnus, pen name of Italian comic book artist Roberto Raviola
- Magnus (formerly Brutus Magnus), ring name of English professional wrestler Nick Aldis (born 1986)
Fictional characters
- Magnus Bane, in The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare, and character in the TV Series Shadowhunters
- Magnus Burnsides, one of the main protagonists in The Adventure Zone Dungeons & Dragons podcast
- Magnus Chase, the main protagonist in the fantasy series Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard
- Magnus Eisengrim, in the Deptford Trilogy
- Magnus Gallant, a main character in Ogre Battle 64
- Magnus Greel, a villain in the 1977 Doctor Who serial The Talons of Weng-Chiang
- Magnus Hammersmith, an antagonist in Metalocalypse
- Magnus Murchie, Margaret's insane uncle and advisor in Muriel Spark's Symposium
- Magnus Pym, the protagonist of John le Carré's novel A Perfect Spy
- Magnus Powermouse, the title character of the children's book of the same name
- Magnus, Robot Fighter, a comic book character published by Gold Key and Valiant comics
- Magnus von Grapple, a boss in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
- Magnus (The Vampire Chronicles), in The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice
- Magnus, the real name of the Doctor Who character the Master
- Ultra Magnus, several characters in the Transformers universe
- Magnus Lehnsherr, an alternate reality Marvel Comics character; son of Rogue and Magneto
- Magnus the Red, Primarch of the Thousand Sons Space Marines in the Warhammer 40,000 universe
- Magnus the Sorcerer, a Marvel Universe character
- Magnus, in the video game Kid Icarus: Uprising
- Magnus Fossbakken, in the Norwegian TV show Skam
- Magnus Nielsen, a character from the TV series Dark
- Magnus the Rogue, a supporting character in the video game Minecraft Story Mode
- Magnus, the mascot of the Cleveland State Vikings
- Magnus, the god of magic from The Elder Scrolls universe
- Will Magnus, a DC Comics scientist
- Count Magnus, title character in the M.R. James story
- Jonah Magnus, founder of the titular institute in the horror fiction podcast The Magnus Archives
- Magnus au Grimmus, a character in the Red Rising series
- Ultra Magnus, a supporting character in Transformers: Animated, in which "magnus" is a high rank amongst Autobots; he also appears in Transformers: Prime
- Magnus Honey, Miss Honey's dad in Matilda (novel)
See also
- All pages with titles containing Magnus
- Manus (disambiguation)
- Magnes (disambiguation)
- Magnusson (disambiguation)
- List of people known as The Great
References
- "Scandinavian Names". BehindTheName.com. 2007. Retrieved 2019-07-19.
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