"The only name they never pick is Peter, as a form of respect to Saint Peter, but also because some legends claim a pope with the name of Peter would be a sign of the end of the history of pontiffs."
"So maybe they don't use it to avoid bad luck," he added.
According to Bartoloni, Pope John Paul "merged the names of two previous popes, John and Paul", as did his successor, Pope John Paul II.
Joseph Ratzinger took the name Benedict XVI.
