This title after death 'Gosanjo' is said to have been chosen by himself while he was alive to mean that he was the heir of his maternal grandfather, Sanjo ("A Tale of Flowering Fortunes").
彼の追号「後三条」は、彼が外祖父三条の後継者であることを意味しており、生前自ら定めたものだという説もある（『栄花物語』）。