Haile Selassie I - Name

Name

Haile Selassie was born Lij Tafari Makonnen (Amharic ልጅ፡ ተፈሪ፡ መኮንን; Amharic pronunciation lij teferī mekōnnin). "Lij" translates literally to "child", and serves to indicate that a youth is of noble blood. He would later become Ras Tafari Makonnen; "Ras" translates literally to "head" and is the equivalent of "duke", though it is often rendered in translation as "prince". Tafari, his given name, in Amharic means "one who is respected", while Haile literally means in Ge'ez "Power of" and Selassie means trinity (therefore Haile Selassie equals Power of the Trinity): his coronation name in 1930 (Haile Selassie was also his Christian baptismal name as an infant). In 1916 during the reign of the Empress Zauditu, she gave him the position of a regent and in 1928 this position was elevated, as she granted him the throne of Shoa, his title was then elevated to Negus, "King".

On 2 November 1930, after the death of Empress Zauditu, Ras Tafari Makonnen was crowned emperor. upon his ascension to emperor, he took as his regnal name "Haile Selassie", meaning "Power of the Trinity". Haile Selassie's full title in office was "His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie I, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah, King of Kings (Emperor) of Ethiopia, Elect of God" (Ge'ez ግርማዊ፡ ቀዳማዊ፡ አፄ፡ ኃይለ፡ ሥላሴ፡ ሞዓ፡ አንበሳ፡ ዘእምነገደ፡ ይሁዳ፡ ንጉሠ፡ ነገሥት፡ ዘኢትዮጵያ፡ ሰዩመ፡ እግዚአብሔር; girmāwī ḳedāmāwī 'aṣē ḫayle śillāsē, mō'ā 'anbessā ze'imneggede yihudā niguse negest ze'ītyōṗṗyā, siyume 'igzī'a'bihēr). This title reflects Ethiopian dynastic traditions, which hold that all monarchs must trace their lineage back to Menelik I, who in the Ethiopian tradition was the offspring of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.

To Ethiopians Haile Selassie has been known by many names, including Janhoy, Talaqu Meri, and Abba Tekel. The Rastafari employ many of these appellations, also referring to him as HIM (the abbreviation of His Imperial Majesty), Jah, and Jah Rastafari.