⚠️This fact has been debunked
This is incorrect. Auletes was the nickname of Cleopatra's father, Ptolemy XII, not Cleopatra's real name. Her full name was Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator.
Cleopatras real name was Auletes!
No, Cleopatra's Name Wasn't Auletes—That Was Her Dad
Let's clear this up: Cleopatra's real name was not Auletes. That would be like saying your name is "Guitar Player" because your dad liked music. Auletes was actually the nickname of her father, Ptolemy XII, and it literally meant "the flute player."
The citizens of Alexandria gave him this nickname because he loved performing in musical competitions and playing the flute—apparently quite publicly. Imagine being a powerful pharaoh and having everyone call you "Flute Guy." That was Ptolemy XII's life.
So What Was Cleopatra's Actual Name?
Her full official name was Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator. Let's break down what that mouthful actually means:
- Cleopatra - Greek for "glory of her father" (from kleos = glory, pater = father)
- Thea - "Goddess"
- Philopator - "Beloved of her father" or "father-loving"
- VII - She was the seventh Cleopatra in the Ptolemaic dynasty
Put it all together and her name essentially proclaimed: "Cleopatra, the goddess who loves her father, number seven." Ancient Egyptian royal names were basically résumés.
The Ptolemaic Name Game
The confusion makes sense when you realize the Ptolemaic dynasty wasn't big on creativity. They recycled the same handful of names for 300 years—lots of Ptolemys, lots of Cleopatras, and the occasional Berenice thrown in for variety.
Cleopatra was Macedonian Greek by ancestry, descended from Ptolemy I, one of Alexander the Great's generals who took over Egypt after Alexander died in 323 BCE. Her dynasty ruled Egypt from 305 BCE until Rome annexed it in 30 BCE—making her the last pharaoh of Egypt.
Her father's full official name? Ptolemy XII Theos Philopator Philadelphus Neos Dionysus. But everyone just called him Auletes. Probably easier to remember than that alphabet soup.
Why This Myth Exists
This mix-up likely happens because people hear "Auletes" connected to Cleopatra's family and assume it's her name. It doesn't help that she incorporated "Philopator" (father-loving) into her own title, creating a linguistic connection that trips people up.
Plus, Cleopatra identified herself through her father—he named her his heir before his death in 51 BCE. The father-daughter connection was central to her legitimacy as ruler, so their names are historically intertwined.
But nope, she was Cleopatra. He was the flute player. Two different people, two different names, one very musical family history.