In the naming convention used in ancient Rome, derived from that of the Etruscan civilization, the names of male patricians normally consist of three parts (tria nomina): the praenomen (given name), nomen gentile or gentilicium (name of the gens or clan) and cognomen (belonging to a family within the gens). Sometimes a second cognomen (called agnomen) was added. A male who was adopted also showed his "filiation" (see Augustus). For female names, there are a few differences. The Roman Forum was the central area around which ancient Rome developed. ... Map showing the extent of the Etruscan civilization and the twelve Etruscan League cities. ... Patricians were originally the elite caste in ancient Rome. ... GENS is an open source emulator for the Sega Genesis (Sega Megadrive). ... Augustus (Latin: IMP•CAESAR•DIVI•F•AVGVSTVS;[1] September 23, 63 BC – August 19, AD 14), known as Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus (in English Octavian, Latin: C•IVLIVS•C•F•CAESAR•OCTAVIANVS) for the period of his life prior to 27 BC, was the first and among the most important...

History

In the early regal period of Rome, it appears that people were at first referred to by only a single name. As Rome grew and occupied more land and governed more people, the use of a second, family name came into use. By the earliest days of the Republic, every member of the household would have at least two names, their given name (praenomen) and the genitive form of the pater familias, which was a fixed and inherited nomen. This is significant in several ways: first because it was genuinely unique among Indo-European languages of that era to have advanced to a point where binomial nomenclature was needed; secondly because – as the words used imply – the core element of the name (nomen) was not the individual's given name (praenomen) but rather the inherited gens name. This is probably the cause of the minuscule number of praenomina that were used. GENS is an open source emulator for the Sega Genesis (Sega Megadrive). ...

Later in the Republican period, a further refinement was added as the importance of the gens grew and the size of each voting tribe was such that differentiation within the gens became of importance. The most common naming system used by the patricians (the nobility of the day), known as the Tria Nomina, consisted of three parts: praenomen, nomen and cognomen.

The praenomen roughly equates to the given, or Christian, name of today. It was a personal appellation given to an infant on their day of lustration. Compared to most cultures, Romans used a tiny number of different praenomina: most people were given names from a list of fewer than forty, reduced to about 18 in the late Republic. Some gentes used only a few of these praenomina, and some of the praenomina in turn were used only in one gens. The pater familias often named infants after himself, in masculine or feminine form (Lucius, Lucia). Most praenomina are masculine o-stem (nominative in -us) or feminine a-stem nouns. Lustration is, literally, a sacrifice, or ceremony, by which cities, fields, armies, or people, defiled by crimes, pestilence, or other cause of uncleanness, were purified. During the period after the fall of the various European Communist states in 1989–1991, the term came to refer to the policy of...

Although the Tria Nomina system of naming can be shown to date back as early as the latter half of the fifth century BCE, it was especially slow to take root, with the Tria Nomina not appearing in official documents until the late second century BCE and are not commonplace until the time of Sulla, right before the Imperial period. The pattern was even more slowly adopted by the non-patrician families, with the first examples of cognomina for the plebians dating to c. 125 BCE and not becoming popular for another century.

See Byzantine Empire for information on the Byzantine history. A simple summary of the history of the Roman name in the Eastern Empire is that the old Roman culture over time faded and was replaced by Greek, for the language, culture, and names. Byzantine Empire (native Greek name: - Basileia tōn Romaiōn) is the term conventionally used since the 19th century to describe the Greek-speaking Roman Empire of the Middle Ages, centered at its capital in Constantinople. ...

Praenomen

See also: list of Roman praenomina

This form of "first" name, except for familiar or friendly use, was relatively unimportant, and was not frequently used on its own. Relatively few praenomina were commonly known in both the Republican and Imperial eras of Rome. Only a handful of such names, such as Marcus (as Mark) and Lucius (and its feminine form Lucia), survived into modern English, though many more occur in modern Romance Languages. This is a list of Roman praenomina. ... This article is becoming very long. ... The Roman Empire was a phase of the ancient Roman civilization characterized by an autocratic form of government. ...

Many of the praenomina used by male citizens were abbreviated to one or two characters in writing or inscriptions; the more common abbreviations include: Appius (Ap.), Aulus (A.), Flavius (Fl.), Gaius (C.), Gnaeus (Cn.), Decimus (D.) Lucius (L.), Manius (M'.), Marcus (M.), Publius (P.), Quintus (Q.) Servius (Ser.), Sextus (Sex.), Spurius (Sp.), Titus (T.), Tiberius (Ti.). The names Primus, Secundus, Tertius, Quintus, Sextus, Septimus, Octavius, and Decimus mean, respectively, 'first', 'second', 'third', 'fifth', 'sixth', 'seventh', 'eighth', and 'tenth', and were originally given to second, third, etc. sons in birth order. There are, however, abundant examples of this birth-number significance being later lost: Sextus Pompeius, for instance, was not a sixth son. A possible explanation for this is that the numerical praenomen came instead to stand for the number of the month in which the person was born ^{[citation needed]}. Another explanation is that eventually parents thought the names were euphonic, and names such as Decimus no longer had to be the tenth child or born in December, and had become common names. Sextus Pompeius Magnus Pius, in English Sextus Pompey, was a Roman general from the late Republic (1st century BC). ... Euphony describes flowing and aesthetically pleasing speech. ... Decimus was a Roman praenomen. ... The Roman calendar changed its form several times in the time between the foundation of Rome and the fall of the Roman Empire. ...

Nomen gentile or Gentilicium

See also: list of Roman nomina

The second name or nomen gentile is the name of the gens (the family clan), in masculine form for men. The original gentes were descended from the family groups that settled Rome. These eventually developed into entire clans, which covered specific geographic regions. As the area of Rome expanded the number of tribes also expanded, so that not all tribes were from original settlers. Some were named for Etruscan families, while others were from local tribes or from major geographical features, such as rivers. Well-known nomina include many of the familiar names of ancient Rome, such as Aemilius, Claudius, Cornelius, Domitius, Julius, Pompeius, Antonius and Valerius. This is a list of Roman nomina. ... GENS is an open source emulator for the Sega Genesis (Sega Megadrive). ... GENS is an open source emulator for the Sega Genesis (Sega Megadrive). ... See: Etruscan civilization Etruscan language Etruscan alphabet Etruscan mythology See also: Tyrrhenian, Lemnian, Pelasgian. ... Aemilius (fem. ... The gens Claudia was one of the oldest families in ancient Rome, and for centuries its members were regularly leaders of the city and empire. ... Cornelius (fem. ... Julius (fem. ... Pompeius (fem. ... Antonius (fem. ... Valerius was a Roman nomen of the gens Valerii, one of the oldest families of the city. ...

Cognomen

See also: list of Roman cognomina

The third name, or cognomen, began as a nickname or personal name that distinguished individuals within the same Gens (the cognomen does not appear in official documents until around 100 BC). During the Roman Republic and Empire, the cognomen is inherited from father to son, serving to distinguish a family within a Gens. Often the cognomen was chosen based on some physical or personality trait, sometimes with ironic results: Julius Caesar's cognomen meant hairy (cf. etymology of the name of Julius Caesar) although he was balding, and Tacitus's cognomen meant silent, while he was a well-known orator. This is a list of Roman cognomina. ... Irony is a literary or rhetorical device in which there is a gap or incongruity between what a speaker or a writer says, and what is understood. ... Gaius Julius Caesar (IPA: ;[1]), July 12, 100 BC – March 15, 44 BC) was a Roman military and political leader. ... Using the Latin alphabet as it existed in the day of Julius Caesar (100 BC – 44 BC) (i. ... Male pattern baldness in 40 year old man. ... Gaius Cornelius Tacitus Publius (or: Gaius) Cornelius Tacitus (c. ... Orator is a Latin word for speaker (from the Latin verb oro, meaning I speak or I pray). In ancient Rome, the art of speaking in public (Ars Oratoria) was a professional competence especially cultivated by politicians and lawyers. ...

Agnomen

A distinction could even be made in families, a second cognomen (called agnomen) being added. A few of these were inherited like the cognomen, thus establishing a sub-family within a family. The majority, however, were used as nicknames. . See List of Imperial Roman victory titles for a good list of agnomina. A few examples include Africanus, Asiaticus, Augustus (for Emperors), Britannicus, Caligula, Germanicus, and Imperator. This document is a list of victory titles assumed by Roman Emperors, not including assumption of the title Imperator (is itself a victory title); note that the Roman Emperors were not the only persons to assume victory titles (Maximinus Thrax acquired his victory title during the reign of a previous... Africanus is a cognomen of ancient Rome associated with the gens Scipio, especially Scipio Major and his grandson (by adoption) Scipio Minor, who were major players in the Punic Wars against Carthage. ... Augustus (Latin: IMP•CAESAR•DIVI•F•AVGVSTVS;[1] September 23, 63 BC – August 19, AD 14), known as Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus (in English Octavian, Latin: C•IVLIVS•C•F•CAESAR•OCTAVIANVS) for the period of his life prior to 27 BC, was the first and among the most important... Britannicus (41 - 55 A.D.) was the son of the Roman emperor Claudius and his third wife Messalina. ... Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (August 31, A.D. 12 – January 24, A.D. 41), most commonly known as Caligula, was the third Roman Emperor and a member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, ruling from 37 to 41. ... Bust of Germanicus. ... The Latin word imperator was a title originally roughly equivalent to commander during the period of the Roman Republic. ...

Adoption

When a Roman man was adopted into another family (a common event due to the small number of children most families had), his name would become the adopted father's full name, plus a cognomen identifying his birth family. Examples from Roman history:

• Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus Africanus, the biological son of Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus, adopted into the family Cornelius Scipio.
• Mamercus Aemilius Lepidus Livianus (Princeps senatus in the 1st century BC), born as the son of a certain Livius, adopted into the Aemilii Lepidi.

See adoption in Rome. Nicholas Poussins painting of the Continence of Scipio, depicting his return of a captured young woman to her fiancé, having refused to accept her from his troops as a prize of war. ... Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus (229 BC-160 BC) was a Roman general and politician. ... The princeps senatus (plural principes senatus) was the leader of the Roman senate. ... Possibly the most famous Roman adoptee, Augustus Caesar In ancient Rome, adoption of boys was a fairly common procedure, particularly in the upper senatorial class. ...

Foreign names

As Rome continued to conquer territories beyond the Italian peninsula, many foreign names were introduced. Discharged auxiliary soldiers and others gaining Roman Citizenship could, and many would, continue to use at least a portion of their former names. A number of the names below are of Greek origin, while others came from regions that were brought under Roman influence. Non-citizen auxiliary soldiers who were granted citizenship often adopted the nomen gentile of their Emperor, adding their native name as a cognomen.

Female names

There is inscriptional evidence to show that in the earliest period there were female versions of the praenomina and that women's names presumably consisted of a praenomen and nomen gentile followed by filiation. By the time of the historically attested Republic, women no longer normally had praenomina. Instead, they were officially known only by the feminine form of their father's nomen gentile. If further description was needed, the name was followed by the genitive of her father's cognomen or, after marriage, of that of her husband. Hence, Cicero speaks of a woman as Annia P. Anni senatoris filia (Annia the daughter of P. Annius the senator). If only two daughters survived they could be distinguished as maior and minor. Marcus Antonius's daughters were known as Antonia maior (grandmother of the emperor Nero) and Antonia minor (mother of the emperor Claudius). If a family had more than two daughters, they were distinguished by ordinal numbers: Cornelia Quinta, the fifth daughter of a Cornelius. By the late Republic, women also adopted the feminine form of their father's cognomen (e.g., Caecilia Metella Crassi, daughter of Q. Caecilius Metellus and wife of P. Licinius Crassus). This feminized cognomen was often made a diminutive (e.g. Augustus's wife Livia Drusilla was the daughter of a M. Livius Drusus).There are some examples of where a daughter took the name of her mother including Arria, daughter of Thrasea Paetus and his wife, Arria (Tac. Ann. 16, 34; Pliny Ep. 3, 6, 10; 7, 19, 3) and, based on an assumption by Syme (Syme; 1964a:412f), possibly Considia, daughter of Servilius Nonianus (Pliny NH 24, 43). Cicero at about age 60, from an ancient marble bust Marcus Tullius Cicero January 3, 106 BC – December 7, 43 BC) was an orator, statesman, political theorist, and philosopher of Ancient Rome. ... Bust of Marcus Antonius Marcus Antonius (Latin: M·ANTONIVS·M·F·M·N¹) (c. ... Nero[1] Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (December 15, 37 – June 9, 68), born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, also called Nero Claudius Drusus Germanicus, was the fifth and last Roman Emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty (54–68). ... Livia Livia Drusa Augusta, Livia Drusilla, or Julia Augusta (58 BC-AD 29) was the wife of Caesar Augustus and the most powerful woman in Roman history, acting several times as regent and being Augustus faithful advisor. ...

Additional elements and examples

In the beginning, the praenomen and nomen gentile constituted a Roman's full name and were followed by the so-called filiation (a patronymic or indication of paternity). The filiation (patronimicus) consisted of the Latin word for "son" filius (abbreviated by the letter f.) preceded by the abbreviation of the father's praenomen, which was understood in the genitive. Hence, a Roman might have been known as M. Antonius M. f. (=Marci filius), that is, Marcus Antonius, the son of Marcus. Additionally it could also indicate the grandfather with the word "grandson" nepos (abbreviated by the letter n.). By the Middle Republic, the abbreviation for tribe in which the man was enrolled was added after his filiation. When this became an official part of the name is not known.

Tribes

A tribe was not an indication of common ancestry; the tribes were distributed geographically and a man belonged to the tribe in which his main residence was located. The tribe was an essential part of citizenship, since voting was often carried out by tribe. With the expansion of the Empire, the number of tribes also expanded. See List of Roman Tribes. History This article is a list of the historical tribes of Rome, as used for voting. ...

Sample analysis of a complete name

The tomb of Cornelius Lucius Scipio Barbatus: Lucius of the gens Cornelius, of the sub family of Scipio, conqueror of the Barbarians

Analysis of the example of a complete name: Marcus Aurelius Marci f. Quinti n. tribu Galeria Antoninus Pius, domo Caesaraugusta. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1200x674, 145 KB)Tomb of Lucius Cornelius Scipio Barbatus with Latin verse inscription. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1200x674, 145 KB)Tomb of Lucius Cornelius Scipio Barbatus with Latin verse inscription. ...

• praenomen: Marcus
• nomen gentile: Aurelius (he belongs to Gens Aurelia, the Aurelii in plural)
• patronimicus: son of Marcus
• grandparent: grandson of Quintus

• tribe: Galeria (a tribe from the region of Caesaraugusta in Hispania)
• cognomen: Antoninus (family of the Antonini)
• agnomen: Pius (probably because of his piety... Rarely inherited)
• city: Caesaraugusta (ancient Saragossa or Zaragoza in Hispania)

In everyday use, people were referred to by either a combination of the praenomen and nomen gentile, or even more usually by just their cognomen. So, "Marcus Livius Drusus" would either be just "Drusus" or "Marcus Livius". "Iulia Marciana" would be just "Iulia". This has created a host of problems for modern scholars, since in many cases we no longer have the contemporaneous context that would have made it obvious which person was actually meant, and in some of these cases accurate identification has never been possible. For alternative meanings, see Zaragoza (disambiguation). ... Roman theater at Mérida; the statues are replicas Hispania was the name given by the Romans to the whole of the Iberian Peninsula (modern Portugal, Spain, Andorra and Gibraltar) and to two provinces created there in the period of the Roman Republic: Hispania Citerior and Hispania Ulterior. ... For alternative meanings, see Zaragoza (disambiguation). ... Location Coordinates : Time Zone : CET (GMT +1) - summer: CEST (GMT +2) General information Native name Zaragoza (Spanish) Spanish name Zaragoza Founded 24 Postal code 50001 - 50018 Website http://www. ...

Evolution of a personal name

A person's name was not static in Ancient Rome, but often evolved to reflect person's new status or social connections. The example given here is the evolution of the official name of the emperor, Augustus: The Roman Forum was the central area around which ancient Rome developed. ... Augustus (Latin: IMP•CAESAR•DIVI•F•AVGVSTVS;[1] September 23, 63 BC – August 19, AD 14), known as Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus (in English Octavian, Latin: C•IVLIVS•C•F•CAESAR•OCTAVIANVS) for the period of his life prior to 27 BC, was the first and among the most important...

63 BC: Augustus is born Centuries: 2nd century BC - 1st century BC - 1st century Decades: 110s BC 100s BC 90s BC 80s BC 70s BC - 60s BC - 50s BC 40s BC 30s BC 20s BC 10s BC Years: 68 BC 67 BC 66 BC 65 BC 64 BC 63 BC 62 BC 61 BC 60...

• C·OCTAVIVS·C·F·
• Gaius Octavius Gaii filius
• Gaius of the gens Octavius, son of Gaius

44 BC: Julius Caesar dies. In his will he adopts Gaius Octavius. See Adoption in Rome. GENS is an open source emulator for the Sega Genesis (Sega Megadrive). ... Centuries: 2nd century BC - 1st century BC - 1st century Decades: 90s BC 80s BC 70s BC 60s BC 50s BC - 40s BC - 30s BC 20s BC 10s BC 0s BC 0s Years: 49 BC 48 BC 47 BC 46 BC 45 BC 44 BC 43 BC 42 BC 41 BC... Possibly the most famous Roman adoptee, Augustus Caesar In ancient Rome, adoption of boys was a fairly common procedure, particularly in the upper senatorial class. ...

• C·IVLIVS·C·F·CAESAR·OCTAVIANVS
• Gaius Iulius Gaii filius Caesar Octavianus
• Gaius Caesar of the gens Julius, son of Gaius, originally of the gens Octavius

42 BC: Julius Caesar is deified, prompting a change in Augustus' name. GENS is an open source emulator for the Sega Genesis (Sega Megadrive). ... GENS is an open source emulator for the Sega Genesis (Sega Megadrive). ... Events October 3 - First Battle of Philippi: The Triumvirs Mark Antony and Octavian fight an indecisive battle with Caesars assassins Marcus Junius Brutus and Cassius. ... Apotheosis means glorification, usually to a divine level, coming from the Greek word apotheoun, to deify. ...

• C·IVLIVS·DIVI·F·CAESAR·OCTAVIANVS
• Gaius Iulius Divi filius Caesar Octavianus
• Gaius Caesar of the gens Julius, son of the Deified, originally of the gens Octavius

31 BC: Augustus is declared imperator by the army GENS is an open source emulator for the Sega Genesis (Sega Megadrive). ... GENS is an open source emulator for the Sega Genesis (Sega Megadrive). ... Centuries: 2nd century BC - 1st century BC - 1st century Decades: 80s BC 70s BC 60s BC 50s BC 40s BC - 30s BC - 20s BC 10s BC 0s 10s 20s Years: 36 BC 35 BC 34 BC 33 BC 32 BC 31 BC 30 BC 29 BC 28 BC 27 BC... The Latin word imperator was a title originally roughly equivalent to commander during the period of the Roman Republic. ...

• IMP·C·IVLIVS·DIVI·F·CAESAR·OCTAVIANVS
• Imperator Gaius Iulius Divi filius Caesar Octavianus
• Imperator Gaius Caesar of the gens Julius, son of the Deified, originally of the gens Octavius

27 BC: The Roman Senate grants the title Augustus. Augustus assumes his official regnal name. GENS is an open source emulator for the Sega Genesis (Sega Megadrive). ... GENS is an open source emulator for the Sega Genesis (Sega Megadrive). ... Centuries: 2nd century BC - 1st century BC - 1st century Decades: 70s BC 60s BC 50s BC 40s BC 30s BC - 20s BC - 10s BC 0s 10s 20s 30s Years: 32 BC 31 BC 30 BC 29 BC 28 BC 27 BC 26 BC 25 BC 24 BC 23 BC 22... The Roman Senate (Latin, Senatus) was a deliberative body which was important in the government of both the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. ...

• IMP·CAESAR·DIVI·F·AUGUSTUS
• Imperator Caesar Divi filius Augustus
• Imperator Caesar the August, son of the Deified

See also

• Roman victory title
• List of Roman praenomina
• List of Roman nomina
• List of Roman cognomina
• List of Imperial Roman victory titles
• List of Roman Tribes
• List of Roman Female Names
• Roman Republic
• Roman Empire

A victory title is an honorific title adopted by a successful military commander to commemorate his defeat of an enemy nation. ... This is a list of Roman praenomina. ... This is a list of Roman nomina. ... This is a list of Roman cognomina. ... This document is a list of victory titles assumed by Roman Emperors, not including assumption of the title Imperator (is itself a victory title); note that the Roman Emperors were not the only persons to assume victory titles (Maximinus Thrax acquired his victory title during the reign of a previous... History This article is a list of the historical tribes of Rome, as used for voting. ... // History This is a list of Historical Roman names for women. ... This article is becoming very long. ... The Roman Empire was a phase of the ancient Roman civilization characterized by an autocratic form of government. ...

References

• http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/roman_names.html
• http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/roman/
• http://www.behindthename.com/nmc/rom-anci.php (List of Roman Derived Names)
• http://www.novaroma.org/via_romana/names2.html
• Cambridge Latin Course, University of Cambridge Press 2004, ISBN 0-521-78230-9
• Liberati, Anna Maria and Bourbon, Fabio (2005), Barnes and Noble Press, ISBN 0-7607-6234-1