The oval frame used to enclose a pharaoh’s name in hieroglyphic inscriptions is called a cartouche.
A cartouche is an elongated oval with a short horizontal line touching one end. It identified the enclosed writing as a royal name, especially the pharaoh’s throne name and birth name. The shape developed from the earlier shen ring, a symbol associated with eternity and protection.
The earliest cartouches appeared near the end of Egypt’s Third Dynasty, becoming common in the Fourth Dynasty under Pharaoh Sneferu. Their protective meaning made them suitable for royal names in monuments, tombs, temple inscriptions and amulets. Archaeologists also use cartouches to identify rulers and help date buildings or objects.
A common mix-up is confusing a cartouche with a hieroglyph itself. The cartouche is not one particular picture-symbol; it is a border that signals the special status of the name inside it. The French term comes from soldiers who thought the shape resembled a paper gunpowder cartridge.