Every Rhaenys Targaryen, told apart
3 of them across three hundred years, 0 of whom ruled. This is the single biggest reason the Targaryen family tree confuses people.
All 3, in order of birth
-
Rhaenys Targaryen
25 BC to 10 ACThe youngest of the three and Aegon’s favourite. She rode Meraxes and kept a court of singers and poets.
- Dragon
- Meraxes
- Parents
- Aerion Targaryen and Valaena Velaryon
- Remember them as
- sister-wife of Aegon the Conqueror, 25 BC to 10 AC
-
Rhaenys Targaryen
74 to 129 ACthe Queen Who Never Was
Passed over twice: once when her uncle Baelon was named heir, and again at the Great Council of 101 AC when the lords chose Viserys. She rode Meleys, the Red Queen.
- Dragon
- Meleys
- Parents
- Aemon Targaryen and Jocelyn Baratheon
- Remember them as
- the Queen Who Never Was, 74 to 129 AC
-
Rhaenys Targaryen
280 to 283 ACRhaegar’s eldest child, three years old at the Sack.
- Parents
- Rhaegar Targaryen and Elia Martell
- Remember them as
- daughter of Rhaegar, 280 to 283 AC
Why they kept reusing the same names
Naming a Targaryen child was a political act. Calling a son Aegon invoked the Conqueror. Calling him Jaehaerys invoked the Old King and fifty five years of peace. Calling him Daeron invoked either the boy who conquered Dorne or the man who married it into the realm, depending on which one you needed.
The cost of that habit is a family tree where the first name tells you almost nothing. The chart on this site labels every person with their dates and their epithet for exactly that reason. If you are trying to work out which one you are looking at, the year is the fastest way in.
Questions about the Rhaenyses
How many Targaryens were named Rhaenys?
At least 3 appear on this family tree, of whom 0 ruled from the Iron Throne. The Targaryens reused a small pool of names deliberately, to tie each new child to an ancestor worth invoking.
Why are there so many Targaryens named Rhaenys?
Naming a child after a celebrated ancestor was a claim on that ancestor’s reputation. Aegon invoked the Conqueror, Jaehaerys invoked the Old King, Daeron invoked the Good. The result is a family tree where a first name tells you almost nothing.
How do you tell them apart?
By their dates and their epithet. Every Targaryen who mattered picked up a nickname, and where they did not, the reign years do the work. This site labels every node on the chart with both.