"It is much to be wished that the surname "Plantagenet," which since the time of Charles II, has been freely given to all descendants of Geoffrey of Anjou, had some historical basis which would justify its use, for it forms a most convenient method of referring to the Edwardian kings and their numerous descendants. The fact is, however, as has been pointed out by Sir James Ramsay and other writers of our day, that the name, although a personal emblem of the aforesaid Geoffrey, was never borne by any of his descendants before Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York (father of Edward IV), who assumed it, apparently about 1448. V.G."[2] To simplify the above quote by Vicary Gibbs, the Editor of the Complete Peerage, Plantagenet was not a surname until about 1448. It was a personal nickname and also the name given to the dynasty of Angevin (descended from the Counts of Anjou) kings of England.[3]
