Expert: Julie Duck - 3/6/2001

Question
Hi Julie:

I have often wondered about the derivation of the word Plantaganet.  Any idea?

Thanks, Tucker

Answer
This is a little out of my area, but I tracked down some meaningful information that might help you. I hope that it helps:

 ENCYCLOPÆDIA BRITANNICA
Plantagenet, House Of
d. 1151also called HOUSE OF ANJOU, OR ANGEVIN DYNASTY, ROYAL HOUSE OF ENGLAND, THAT REIGNED FROM 1154 TO 1485 AND PROVIDED 14 KINGS, 6 OF WHOM BELONGED TO THE CADET HOUSES OF LANCASTER AND YORK. THE ROYAL LINE DESCENDED FROM THE UNION BETWEEN GEOFFREY, COUNT OF ANJOU, and the empress Matilda, daughter of the English king Henry I. See the genealogical table on pages 500-501.

Although well established, the surname Plantagenet has little historical justification. It seems to have originated as a nickname for Count Geoffrey and has been variously explained as referring to his practice of wearing a sprig of broom (Latin genista) in his hat or, more probably, to his habit of planting brooms to improve his hunting covers. It was not, however, a hereditary surname, and Geoffrey's descendants in England remained without one for more than 250 years, although surnames became universal outside the royal family.

Some historians apply the name house of Anjou, or Angevin dynasty, to Henry II (who was also count of Anjou) and his 13 successors; other historians label only Henry II and his sons, Richard I and John, as the Angevin kings and, for want of a better name, label their successors, notably Edward I, Edward II, and Edward III, as Plantagenets. The first official use of the surname Plantagenet by any descendant of Count Geoffrey occurred in 1460, when Richard, Duke of York, claimed the throne as "Richard Plantaginet."