'John Paul I' - The Three Naming Innovations

Albino Luciani, on being elected pope on 26 August 1978, chose to be known as John Paul I. With this name he honored John XXIII for making him a bishop, and Paul VI for his elevation to cardinal.

The name 'John Paul I' contained three innovations:

1. It was the first instance when a pope wished to be known during his lifetime as 'the first.'
   (Prior to this, a pope selecting a new papal name would not be referred to as 'the first' during his lifetime. This would only occur when a subsequent pope elected to use that same basic name).
   
   
2. It was the first instance of an assumed name that had not been the prior (or birth) name of a former pope.
   
3. First twofold name.

51 days later, on 16 October 1987, when Karol Wojtyla, chose to be John Paul II, to honor his short-lived predecessor, another milestone in papal history was crossed.

This was the only instance when the first two occurrences of a papal name were consecutive, i.e. 'I' and 'II' with no other popes in between.

Prior to this, there were on average 81 intervening popes between the first and second occurrence of a papal name.

The gap between Pius I and Pius II spanned ~1,317 years and involved 200 intervening popes!