Warhammer 40K: Names Of Divinity, the Many Titles of The Emperor – PRIME
What do you call the Emperor of Mankind? It is said there is great power in names.
From Holy Terra the Emperor of Mankind rules the vast Imperium of Man. Great is His power and great is His Glory, His gaze watches over all. From thousands of worlds, the prayers of countless trillions echo up, bringing glory to His name. But what is His name? Across the centuries He has been known by many different names and many titles, each with its own meaning. Each with their own power and often with their purpose. Today let us take a look at some of the many names He is known by, and where they come from, and what they mean. There are more names than I will mention here, but these are some of the most important.
The New Man 
The New Man is one of the earliest names we have for the Emperor. It was the name by which the Shamans who are said to have created Him, called the being they poured their physic energy into to create, which would become the Emperor. While the veracity of this origin is in question, the name seems to separate the Emperor from the rest of humanity. It could also refer to the fact that Perpetuals, of which the Emperor is one, are a type of mutant human that the Emperor wants all humans to evolve into, literally a new type of man.
The Boy Who Would Be King
In the novel Master of Mankind, the boy version of the Emperor, shown in visions granted by Him, is referred to the Boy Who Would Be King. This name seems to have several meanings. On the base surface it is pointing to the fact that the boy will grow up to the Emperor. It could also imply that He will be a king (and we know the Emperor was a ruler in the past) long before He would become Emperor. However, we could also take it as an allusion to the novel and movie, The Man Who Would Be King. This story tells of a British Adventurer who is mistaken for a god by an isolated people and made their king. Rather than copping to the illusion, or fleeing with the money they offer him, he continues to try to play the role of god until he is found out and executed. Does this name thus referrer to the Emperor trying to take the place of a god-king Himself? Or could it be a warning to Himself, that the price of impersonating a god is death? This is after all why Horus rises up against him.
Neoth
This is a name the Emperor went by while during the age of the first city. He was likely known by this name somewhere in Mesopotamia. It doesn’t seem to have any particular meaning, but is pretty much the only “human” name we know of His.
Master of the Lines
This is the name He went by as best we can tell right before He became the Emperor. It refers to His mastery of genetics and gene lines. It was under this guise that the Thunder Warriors project began and that He seemingly first put His plans for Unification into play.
The Emperor/The Emperor of Mankind
This is possibly the most well-known of His names. It is also, to the best of our knowledge the last of His names that He picked. Again this is a name with some layered meaning. On the surface it seems a mere title, there are many Emperors. Yet to take it as a name implies more, it says that He is THE Emperor, the one and only, and indeed many Imperial children were thought that there was no rule or ruler before Him and could be none after Him.
Emperor also comes with a level and legitimacy. At least in Western European culture , not just anyone can claim the title, there are only a few legitimate Imperial claims, and they tie back to old sources of legitimacy. The most important of these is the Roman claim, both the Eastern and Western. This limited amount of Imperial titles is why the British Royals only became an imperial one due to gaining the Crown of India, and not through the rest of their massive Empire.
On another level, Emperor also comes with implications of divinity. The Roman Emperors, whom The Emperor often shares imagery with, were at times considered gods. The same is true of some Chinese Emperors, while the Japanese Emperors were considered Divine until 1945. Even when not considered to be gods themselves, Imperial rule often is seen as blessed by gods or connected somehow. In the West Emperors such as Napoleon or Charlemagne were crowed by the Pope, god’s representative on Earth. In China the Emperor’s ruled by and with the Mandate of Heaven. For an avowed atheist Emperor is a very religiously charged term to pick.
Anathema 
This is the name/title given to the Emperor by the Forces of Chaos, in particular by Daemons. Again this has many meanings. The more common modern use of anathema is simply someone that is intensely disliked or loathed, often to the point of being almost a polar opposite or destructive to the person loathing. This certainty matches how Daemons feel about the Emperor, they both loath Him and find His presence destructive. However, a few other meanings for the word also bear relevance. Older biblical roots give it as not something loathed, but an offering, this could refer to the Emperor offering Himself up for human kind. Another meaning of Anathema is someone who has been excommunicated and cursed, could this refer to the Emperor being a warp being, or Warp God, that has been excommunicated by the other Choas gods?
The Master of Mankind
Another simple variation on the Emperor’s name. This one seems more upfront and displays His role, He is not simply ruler, but master. This goes hand in hand with His view that humankind needs to be dominated and controlled.
The God Emperor 
Post-Heresy the Emperor’s name underwent a change from Emperor to God Emperor. This matches the shift within the Imperium to seeing Him as a god, not merely a super advanced human. Here the divinity is brought t0 the fore.
The Allfather
This is the name by which Leman Russ and the Space Wolves know the Emperor. It is also one of the titles that Oden the ruler of the Norse Gods goes by. Here again, we have people who deny the Emperor’s divinity calling Him by religiously charged name. It also can refer to how the Emperor is, genetically at least, a father to the Primarches and by extension the Marines.
The Carrion God/The Corpse God
Another name, with some variations, that the Emperor is called by the forces of Chaos. In this case, it refers to his current physical state as a rotting being tied to the Golden Throne. It does however seem to have conceded that He is a god.
The False God/False Emperor
Another insulting pair of names from the Renegades. These deny that the Emperor is a god and that He is the legitimate ruler of mankind. This was one of the main factors that lead the Legions to rebel. Out of the many names He is called, these are the only ones that really defy divinity and (with the possible exception of Noeth) cast Him as simply a powerful human.
