VIII (1897). Many cognomina had unusual terminations for Latin names, ending in -a, -o, or -io, and their meanings were frequently obscure, even in antiquity; this seems to emphasize the manner in which many cognomina originally arose from nicknames. The -ius termination typical of Latin nomina was generally not used for cognomina until the fourth century AD, making it easier to distinguish between nomina and cognomina until the final centuries of the western empire. Unlike the nomen, which was passed down unchanged from father to son, cognomina could appear and disappear almost at will.
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They were not normally chosen by the persons who bore them, but were earned or bestowed by others, which may account for the wide variety of unflattering names that were used as cognomina. Doubtless some cognomina were used ironically, while others continued in use largely because, whatever their origin, they were useful for distinguishing among individuals and between branches of large families. New cognomina were coined and came into fashion throughout Roman history. Under the Empire, the number of cognomina increased dramatically.
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Some of the Munatii do not appear to have borne cognomina.
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In the early years of the Republic, some aristocratic Romans had as many as three cognomina, some of which were hereditary, while others were personal. Like the nomen, cognomina could arise from any number of factors: personal characteristics, habits, occupations, places of origin, heroic exploits, and so forth. One class of cognomina consisted largely of archaic praenomina that were seldom used by the later Republic, although as cognomina these names persisted throughout Imperial times.George Davis Chase, "The Origin of Roman Praenomina", in Harvard Studies in Classical Philology, vol.
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Different branches or stirpes of a gens were usually distinguished by their cognomina, additional surnames following the nomen, which could be either personal or hereditary. Some particularly large stirpes themselves became divided into multiple branches, distinguished by additional cognomina.
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1119 ("Mummius"). Members of this gens are frequently found with cognomina in imperial times.
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The nomen Neratius is classified by Chase with a group of names, ending in -atius, either because they were derived from cognomina ending in -as or -atis, indicating cognomina derived from place names, or from passive participles ending in -atus.Chase, p. 127.
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The cognomina which occur in this gens under the Republic are Peducaeanus, Philo, and Postumus.
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The nomen Reginius belongs to a class of gentilicia formed from cognomina ending in -inus.
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The nomen Praeconius belongs to a large class of gentilicia derived from cognomina ending in -o.
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The Rutilii of the Republic bore the cognomina Calvus, Lupus and Rufus. In addition to these, the coins of the Rutilii include the surname Flaccus, which does not occur in literary sources. Other cognomina occur in the imperial times. A number of Rutilii bore no surname.
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The Caesii under the Republic are not known to have used any regular cognomina. In imperial times, the surnames Cordus, Bassus, Nasica, and Taurinus appear. The first three are typical Latin cognomina, while Taurinus may indicate that its bearer was a native of Taurinum, in northern Italy.
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The proliferation of cognomina in the later centuries of the Empire led some grammarians to classify certain types as agnomina. This class included two main types of cognomen: the cognomen ex virtute, and cognomina that were derived from nomina, to indicate the parentage of Romans who had been adopted from one gens into another. Although these names had existed throughout Roman history, it was only in this late period that they were distinguished from other cognomina.
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The nomen Strabonius belongs to a class of gentilicia derived primarily from cognomina ending in '. The surname Strabo was originally applied to a person known for squinting, part of a large group of cognomina deriving from the physical traits and characteristics of an individual.Chase, pp. 109, 118, 119.
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As a result, by the third century the cognomen became the most important element of the Roman name, and frequently the only one that was useful for distinguishing between individuals. In the later empire, the proliferation of cognomina was such that the full nomenclature of most individuals was not recorded, and in many cases the only names surviving in extant records are cognomina. By the sixth century, traditional Roman cognomina were frequently prefixed by a series of names with Christian religious significance. As Roman institutions vanished, and the distinction between nomen and cognomen ceased to have any practical importance, the complex system of cognomina that developed under the later empire faded away.
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Other cognomina belonged to persons who were not, strictly speaking, members of the gens, but who were freedmen or the descendants of freedmen, or who had been enrolled as Roman citizens under the Fabii. The only cognomina appearing on coins are Hispaniensis, Labeo, Maximus, and Pictor.Eckhel, vol. v. p. 209 ff.
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The nomen Praecilius belongs to a class of gentilicia typically derived from cognomina ending in the diminutive suffix -ulus.
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The cognomina of the Antii under the Republic were Briso and Restio. In imperial times we find Quadratus and Crescens.
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The nomen Severius belongs to a class of gentilicia formed directly from cognomina, in this case the common Latin surname Severus, originally referring to someone whose manner or appearance would be described as "serious" or "stern". It was one of a large group of cognomina derived from the character of an individual.Chase, pp. 110, 111.
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The only surname borne by the Pontii of the Republic is Aquila, an eagle. Various cognomina are found in imperial times.
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Denarius of Furius Purpureo, 169-158 BC. On the obverse is the head of Roma. The reverse shows Luna driving a biga, with a murex-shell above. The cognomina of this gens are Aculeo, Bibaculus, Brocchus, Camillus, Crassipes, Fusus, Luscus, Medullinus, Pacilus, Philus, and Purpureo. The only cognomina that occur on coins are Brocchus, Crassipes, Philus, and Purpureo.
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All of the cognomina borne by members of this gens appear to have been personal surnames, such as Lariscolus, Euhermerus, and Abascantus.
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A few of Postumii without cognomina are known from various sources.Chase, pp. 113, 114.New College Latin & English Dictionary, s. v. tympanum.
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Subsequently they began to exchange traditional praenomina for names that first entered the family as cognomina, such as Nero, Drusus, and Germanicus.
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Originally these were simply personal names, which might be derived from a person's physical features, personal qualities, occupation, place of origin, or even an object with which a person was associated. Some cognomina were derived from the circumstance of a person's adoption from one family into another, or were derived from foreign names, such as when a freedman received a Roman praenomen and nomen. Other cognomina commemorated important events associated with a person; a battle in which a man had fought (Regillensis), a town captured (Coriolanus); or a miraculous occurrence (Corvus). The late grammarians distinguished certain cognomina as agnomina.
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During the Republic, the only cognomina used by the Gellii were Canus and Poplicola or Publicola. The former surname means "white" or "light grey", most likely referring to someone with very light hair, or hair that had become preternaturally white; it belongs to a large class of cognomina derived from the physical characteristics of an individual.New College Latin & English Dictionary, s.v. canus.Chase, pp.
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None of the Rupilii bore cognomina under the Republic, but as with other plebeian families most of them had individual surnames in imperial times.
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The nomen Tanicius seems to belong to a class of gentilicia formed from cognomina ending in ' or ', but no corresponding surname is known.Chase, p. 126.
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In contrast to the honorary cognomina adopted by successful generals, most cognomina were based on a physical or personality quirk; for example, Rufus meaning "red-haired" or Scaevola meaning "left- handed". Some cognomina were hereditary (such as Caesar among a branch of the Julii, Brutus and Silanus among the Junii, or Pilius and Metellus among the Caecilii): others tended to be individual. And some names appear to have been used both as praenomen, agnomen, or non-hereditary cognomen. For instance, Vopiscus was used as both praenomen and cognomen in the Julii Caesares; likewise Nero among the early imperial Claudii, several of whom used the traditional hereditary Claudian cognomen as a praenomen.
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The nomen Rusonius belongs to a class of gentilicia formed primarily from cognomina ending in -o, in this case Ruso, of uncertain meaning.Chase, pp. 118–120.
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In the earliest times, the Pomponii were not distinguished by any surname, and the only family that rose to importance in the time of the Republic bore the surname Matho. On coins we also find the cognomina Molo, Musa, and Rufus, but none of these occur in ancient writers. The other surnames found during the Republic, such as Atticus, were personal cognomina. Numerous surnames appear in imperial times.
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However, it was also common to identify sisters using a variety of names, some of which could be used as either praenomina or cognomina. For example, if Publius Servilius had two daughters, they would typically be referred to as Servilia Major and Servilia Minor. If there were more daughters, the eldest might be called Servilia Prima or Servilia Maxima; younger daughters as Servilia Secunda, Tertia, Quarta, etc. All of these names could be used as praenomina, preceding the nomen, but common usage from the later Republic onward was to treat them as personal cognomina; when these names appear in either position, it is frequently impossible to determine whether they were intended as praenomina or cognomina.
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Most of the Sextii under the Republic bore no surname, or else had only personal cognomina, instead of family-names. These included Baculus, Calvinus, Lateranus, Naso, Paconianus, and Sabinus.
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The people of the western empire reverted to single names, which were indistinguishable from the cognomina that they replaced; many former praenomina and nomina also survived in this way.
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In imperial times, the Romanii used a number of surnames, but all appear to have been personal cognomina, and the Romanii do not appear to have been divided into distinct families.
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The emperors usually prefixed Imperator to their names as a praenomen, while at the same time retaining their own praenomina; but because most of the early emperors were legally adopted by their predecessors, and formally assumed new names, even these were subject to change. Several members of the Julio-Claudian dynasty exchanged their original praenomina for cognomina, or received cognomina in place of praenomina at birth. An emperor might emancipate or enfranchise large groups of people at once, all of whom would automatically receive the emperor's praenomen and nomen. Yet another common practice beginning in the first century AD was to give multiple sons the same praenomen, and distinguish them using different cognomina; by the second century this was becoming the rule, rather than the exception.
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Where once only the most noble patrician houses used multiple surnames, Romans of all backgrounds and social standing might bear several cognomina. By the third century, this had become the norm amongst freeborn Roman citizens. The question of how to classify different cognomina led the grammarians of the fourth and fifth centuries to designate some of them as agnomina. For most of the Republic, the usual manner of distinguishing individuals was through the binomial form of praenomen and nomen.
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The only surnames associated with the early Galerii are Fundanus and Trachalus, but it is not known whether they were personal cognomina, or whether they instead represented distinct families within the gens.
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III, pp. 662, 663 ("Quintus Roscius"). Other cognomina of the Roscii include Capito, indicating someone with a large head; Magnus, great; and Regulus, a prince, a diminutive of rex, a king.Chase, pp.
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A cognomen (, ; Latin plural cognomina; from con- "together with" and (g)nomen "name") was the third name of a citizen of ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. Initially, it was a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became hereditary. Hereditary cognomina were used to augment the second name, the gens (the family name, or clan name), in order to identify a particular branch within a family or family within a clan. The term has also taken on other contemporary meanings.
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The nomen Simplicinius belongs to a class of gentilicia derived from other nomina using the suffix ', which could also be used to form gentile names from cognomina ending in '.Chase, p. 126. Simplicinius is an elaboration on another nomen, Simplicius, which in turn is derived from a surname Simplex, originally applied to someone whose character or habits were described as "simple" or "straightforward". Many cognomina were derived, like Simplex, from the nature of the individuals to whom they were originally applied.
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There is no evidence that the Sarioleni were ever divided into distinct families, and all of their cognomina seem to have been personal, rather than inherited. Many belonged to freedmen, whose surnames had been their personal names prior to their manumission. Among other cognomina, Vocula, a diminutive of vox, a voice, seems to have been bestowed on the senator Sariolenus because of the rumours and gossip that were his stock-in-trade. Celsus was originally given to someone particularly tall.
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The nomen Scribonius belongs to a large class of gentilicia derived from cognomina ending in -o, most of which were of plebeian origin. The root of the name is scribo, a writer.Chase, p. 119.
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The only family-name of the Quinctilii under the Republic is Varus, a common surname meaning "bent, crooked," or "knock-kneed." Other cognomina are found in imperial times.Horace, Satirae, i. 3. 47.Chase, pp.
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The nomen Caecicius belongs to a class of gentilicia derived from cognomina ending in -ex or -icus. Here the root seems to be a surname, Caedicus, the meaning of which is uncertain.Chase, p. 126.
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The cognomina of this gens are Decianus, Pansa, and Saturninus. Of these, only Saturninus was a regular surname. Decianus was first used by a member adopted from the Decia gens, and passed to his children.
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None of the Racilii of the Republic appear to have borne cognomina, and there is no evidence that the gens was divided into distinct families, but a variety of surnames is found in imperial times.
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229, 230.Mattingly, "Numismatic Evidence", pp. 12–14. Towards the end of the Republic, several early Manlii appear without cognomina, such as Quintus and Gnaeus Manlius, tribunes of the plebs in 69 and 58 BC.
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The most illustrious family of the Pactumeii used the cognomina Clemens, Fronto, and Magnus, of which Clemens, meaning "gentle" or "mild", seems to have been the original surname. This family was descended from a Publius Pactumeius, who evidently lived in Africa. Both of his sons were named Quintus, but were distinguished by their cognomina, the elder retaining Clemens, while the younger son assumed the surname Fronto, originally designating someone with a prominent forehead. A later generation of the family bore the cognomen Magnus, meaning "great".
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The family- names of the Licinii are Calvus (with the agnomina Esquilinus and Stolo), Crassus (with the agnomen Dives), Geta, Lucullus, Macer, Murena, Nerva, Sacerdos, and Varus. The other cognomina of the gens are personal surnames, rather than family-names; these include Archias, Caecina, Damasippus, Imbrex, Lartius, Lenticula, Nepos, Proculus, Regulus, Rufinus, Squillus, and Tegula. The only cognomina which occur on coins are Crassus, Macer, Murena, Nerva, and Stolo. A few Licinii are known without a surname; most of these in later times were freedmen.
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During the Republic, several branches of the Sulpician gens were identified by numerous cognomina, including Camerinus, Cornutus, Galba, Gallus, Longus, Paterculus, Peticus, Praetextatus, Quirinus, Rufus, and Saverrio. In addition to these cognomina, we meet with some other surnames belonging to freedmen and to other persons under the Empire. On coins we find the surnames Galba, Platorinus, Proclus, and Rufus. Camerinus was the name of an old patrician family of the Sulpicia gens, which probably derived its name from the ancient town of Cameria or Camerium, in Latium.
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Two cognomina are associated with the Acerronii; Proculus, which was a common surname in imperial times, and Polla (the feminine form of Paullus), which was probably a personal name and may have been an inverted praenomen.
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The family was divided into several branches, and we accordingly find on the funeral urns the cognomina Caspu and Tlapuni; in Latin inscriptions we also meet with the surnames Quadratus and Placidus, and various others occur.
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The only surname associated with the early Terentilii is Arsa, also written Harsa. The later Terentilii have common cognomina, such as Firmus, strong,New College Latin & English Dictionary, s. v. firmus. and Rufus, red.Chase, p. 110.
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In the time of the Republic, the principal cognomina of the Naevii were Balbus and Matho. Balbus, a common surname, originally signified one who stammers.Chase, p. 110. Chase regarded Matho as a borrowing of the Greek Μαθων.
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The only Rubrenus mentioned in ancient authors bore the surname Lappa, a bur, belonging to a large class of cognomina derived from everyday objects, plants, and animals.New College Latin & English Dictionary, s. v. lappa.Chase, pp. 112, 113.
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The nomen Ofanius belongs to a class of gentilicia apparently formed from cognomina ending in -anus, or place-names ending in -anum, although in this case neither a surname Ofanus nor a place called Ofanum is known.Chase, p. 118.
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The cognomina of the Aufidii under the Republic are Lurco and Orestes. Gnaeus Aufidius Orestes was descended from the Aurelii Orestides, but was adopted by the historian Gnaeus Aufidius in his old age.Marcus Tullius Cicero, Pro Domo Sua 13.
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The imperial family set the example by freely mingling the praenomina of the Julii with those of the gens Claudia, using titles and cognomina as praenomina, and regularly changing their praenomina to reflect the political winds of the empire.
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The cognomina used by the Ancharii included Priscus, a common surname meaning "elder" or "old- fashioned", and Soter, a "savior" or "protector." The latter surname was borne by a freedwoman, and was not necessarily used by other members of the gens.
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The cognomina of the Ostorii occurring in ancient historians were Sabinus and Scapula. Sabinus refers to a Sabine, and typically indicates that the bearer was of Sabine ancestry. Scapula, literally "shoulder-blade", was probably given to someone with prominent shoulders.Chase, pp.
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The nomen Silius is derived from the cognomen Silus, originally designating someone with an upturned nose. It was one of a large class of cognomina derived from the physical characteristics of an individual.Festus, s.v. Silus.Cicero, De Natura Deorum, i. 29.
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The nomen Safinius belongs to a class of gentilicia formed from cognomina ending in -inus. The root of the name is Safineis, cognate with the Latin Sabinus, the Oscan name for the Sabellic peoples, including the Sabines and Samnites.Chase, p. 126.
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A number of personal cognomina appear among the Scandilii, some of which were the original names of freedmen who had assumed Roman names when they were manumitted. Of the others, Rufus was a common surname typically given to someone with red hair. Felix referred to someone happy, or fortunate, while Fabatus was derived from faba, a bean, and belonged to a large class of cognomina derived from the names of familiar objects, plants, and animals. Campana belongs to another group of surnames indicating one's place of origin, while Prima was originally a praenomen, given to an eldest daughter.
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The only family of the Cocceii known under the late Republic bore the cognomen Nerva. A number of personal cognomina were borne by other members of the gens, including Auctus, Balbus, Genialis, Justus, Nepos, Nigrinus, Proculus, Rufinus, and Verus.Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft.
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The only distinct family of the Coruncanii during the Republic bore no surname. A variety of cognomina appear in inscriptions, but there is no evidence that any of them represented distinct families of the Coruncanii; many of these surnames belonged to freedmen.
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The Cluvii do not appear to have been divided into distinct families. Individual members of the gens bore the personal cognomina Saxula, a diminutive of saxa, a rock, and Rufus, a common surname usually given to persons with red hair.Chase, pp. 110, 113.
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The cognomina of the Livii during the Republic were Denter, Drusus, Libo, Macatus, and Salinator. Of these, Denter was a common surname originally referring to someone with prominent teeth.Chase, p. 109. Macatus means "spotted", being derived from the same root as macula.
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The only distinct family of the Tineii bore the cognomen Rufus, red. This was a common surname, typically given to those who had red hair.Chase, p. 110. Several members of this family bore additional cognomina, including Sacerdos, a priest, and Clemens, pleasant or gentle.
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The nomen Fulcinius belongs to a class of gentilicia formed from cognomina ending in the diminutive suffix '. The root, Fulcina, seems to be related to the Latin fulcire, "to support", "maintain", or "prop up".Chase, p. 126.New College Latin & English Dictionary, s.v. fulcio.
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Although originally a personal name, the cognomen frequently became hereditary, especially in large families, or gentes, in which they served to identify distinct branches, known as stirpes. Some Romans had more than one cognomen, and in aristocratic families it was not unheard of for individuals to have as many as three, of which some might be hereditary and some personal. These surnames were initially characteristic of patrician families, but over time cognomina were also acquired by the plebeians. However, a number of distinguished plebeian gentes, such as the Antonii and the Marii, were never divided into different branches, and in these families cognomina were the exception rather than the rule.
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If further distinction were needed, she could be identified as a particular citizen's daughter or wife. For instance, Cicero refers to a woman as Annia P. Anni senatoris filia, which means "Annia, daughter of Publius Annius, the senator". However, toward the end of the Republic, as hereditary cognomina came to be regarded as proper names, a woman might be referred to by her cognomen instead, or by a combination of nomen and cognomen; the daughter of Lucius Caecilius Metellus was usually referred to as Caecilia Metella. Sometimes these cognomina were given diminutive forms, such as Agrippina from the masculine Agrippa, or Drusilla from Drusus.
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The only cognomina that occur among the Decii of the Republic are Mus and Subulo. Mus, or "mouse", was the name of a family which was renowned in early Roman history for two of its members devoting themselves to death in order to save the Republic.
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The Manilii were never divided into distinct families, and the only surname found under the Republic is Mancinus, although this probably belonged to one of the Manlii, who has been erroneously named as a Manilius in some manuscripts. A few cognomina are found in Imperial times.
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The cognomina of the Vibii under the Republic were Pansa and Varus, each of which occurs on coins. Both surnames derive from the physical characteristics of the persons to whom they originally applied; Pansa translates as "splay-footed", while Varus is "knock- kneed".Chase, pp. 109, 110.
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The Numisii of the Republic were not divided into any families, and none of them bore any surname. Various cognomina are found in imperial times, of which the most notable may be Lupus, "a wolf", and Rufus, "red", typically given to someone with red hair.Chase, p. 110.
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The nomen Rusticelius belongs to a class of gentilicia formed from cognomina ending in the diminutive suffixes -illus and -ellus. It appears to be derived from rusticellus, clownish, probably a diminutive of rusticus, rural or unsophisticated, rustic.Chase, p. 124.New College Latin & English Dictionary, s. v. rusticus.
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The Avieni do not appear to have been divided into distinct stirpes, or branches, identified by hereditary surnames. There was a family of this name at Ostia, where at least some of them were part of the shipwrights' guild, but the members of this family used distinctive personal cognomina.
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The nomen Rubrenus seems to belong to a class of names derived from other gentilicia using the suffix -enus in place of -inus, a Latin ending that would be more typical of cognomina. The name was most likely derived from Rubrius, from ruber, red or ruddy.Chase, pp. 118, 131.
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The patrician Tullii bore the cognomen Longus, tall, but only one of them appears in history.Chase, p. 110. The notable plebeian families bore the surnames Decula and Cicero. The latter, among the most famous of Roman cognomina, belongs to a common class of surnames derived from familiar objects.
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The nomen Sornatius resembles other gentilicia formed using the suffix ', usually from cognomina ending in ' or ', derived from place names, or participles ending in '.Chase, p. 126. However, there are no known corresponding surnames; there was, however, a town called Sornum in Dacia.Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography, vol.
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The earliest Laberii mentioned in history bear no surname. The first which appears is Durus, borne by one of Caesar's military tribunes, which translates as "hardy" or "tough", and belongs to an abundant class of cognomina derived from the character of an individual.New College Latin & English Dictionary, s.v. durus.Chase, pp.
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In the time of the Republic, the cognomina found for the Herennii include Balbus, Bassus, Cerrinius, Pontius, and Siculus. Many other surnames occur in Imperial times. Balbus and Bassus were common surnames, the former originally referring to one who stammers, and the latter to one inclined to stoutness.Chase, p. 110.
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Their relationship to other prominent members of the family is not immediately apparent. The surname Maluginensis was borne by the most ancient branch of the Cornelii, but had long since vanished from use; in Imperial times old cognomina were frequently revived.Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol. II, p.
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I, pp. 83 ("Ahala"), 448 ("Axilla"). The surnames Caepio and Geminus appear almost simultaneously in the middle of the third century BC, with the consuls of 253 and 252. Each was the grandson of a Gnaeus Servilius, suggesting that the two cognomina belonged to two branches of the same family.
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The nomen Palpellius belongs to a class of gentilicia formed directly from cognomina using the diminutive suffix -illius or -ellius.Chase, p. 124. The name would thus seem to be derived from palpus, literally the palm of the hand; or metaphorically speaking, coaxing or flattery.New College Latin & English Dictionary, s. f. palpus.
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The nomen Didius or Deidius is of uncertain origin. It resembles a class of gentilicia formed from cognomina ending in -idus, but might be derived from a cognomen Dida. Chase classifies it among those gentilicia that either originated at Rome, or cannot be shown to have come from anywhere else.Chase, pp.
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In the following year, however, the II Parthica, stationed in Apamea (Syria), abandoned Macrinus and sided with Elagabalus; the Second supported Elagabalus' rise to purple, defeating Macrinus in the Battle of Antioch. The new emperor awarded the legion with the cognomina Pia Fidelis Felix Aeterna (forever faithful, loyal and pious).
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There were two main branches, or stirpes, of the Publicii under the Republic, distinguished by the cognomina Malleolus and Bibulus. The surname Malleolus is a diminutive of malleus, a hammer, which was used as an emblem on coins of this family.Chase, p. 113.Crawford, Roman Republican Coinage, pp. 333–336.
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The only regular cognomen of the Iallia gens was Bassus, which belonged to the senatorial family. This was a common surname, originally referring to someone who might be described as "stout" or "sturdy", and was one of a large class of cognomina derived from a person's physical features.Chase, pp. 109, 110.
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Lucius Vipstanus Poplicola Messalla was a patrician senator. He was the son of Lucius Vipstanus Messalla, ordinary consul of 115. The presence of the cognomina "Popicola" and "Messalla" indicate he was related to the Valerii through his father. He is identified with the subject of a fragmentary inscription recovered from Tibur.
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The Rusticelii bore a variety of surnames in imperial times, most of which seem to have been personal cognomina. A number of Rusticelii lived at Ostia, Rome's ancient seaport, where several of them bore the surname Felix, fortunate or happy.Chase, p. 111.New College Latin & English Dictionary, s. v. felix.
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The only cognomina known from this gens were Primus, first, a surname that usually indicated the eldest of a group of siblings, and Dilectus, dear or beloved. There is no evidence that either of these represented distinct families of the Sabellii.New College Latin & English Dictionary, s. v. s. dilectus, primus.
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Mamercus () is a Latin praenomen, or personal name, which was used in pre- Roman times and throughout the Roman Republic, becoming disused in imperial times. The feminine form is Mamerca. The patronymic gens Mamercia was derived from this name, as were the cognomina Mamercus and Mamercinus. The name was usually abbreviated Mam.
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The Trebonii of the Republic bore no hereditary surnames, but a few had personal cognomina, such as Asper, bestowed upon Lucius Trebonius, the plebeian tribune of 448 BC. Translating "rough, harsh, rude", or "annoying", this surname alluded to Trebonius' determined pursuit of reforms favouring the plebeians.New College Latin & English Dictionary, s.v. asper.
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The most illustrious family of the Ceionii bore the cognomen Commodus, meaning "friendly, obliging," or "pleasant." The agnomen Verus, meaning "true", was borne by some members of this family. Many other surnames occur, some of which were ordinary cognomina, such as Rufus, meaning "red" or "reddish," or Bassus, "stout".Chase, p. 110.
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The cognomina of the Roscii during the Republic were Fabatus and Otho. Fabatus seems to be derived from faba, a bean, also the root of the nomen Fabia, and suggests that the ancestors of the Roscii were engaged in agriculture. Otho is better known as a surname of the Salvia gens.Chase, p. 113.
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The Aurelii Scauri were a relatively small family, which flourished during the last two centuries of the Republic. Their surname, Scaurus, belongs to a common class of cognomina derived from an individual's physical features, and referred to someone with swollen ankles.Horace, Satirae, i. 3.Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol.
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182x182px There were three main stirpes of the Aurelii in republican times, distinguished by the cognomina Cotta (also spelled Cota), Orestes, and Scaurus. Cotta and Scaurus appear on coins, together with a fourth surname, Rufus, which does not occur among the ancient writers. A few personal cognomina are also found, including Pecuniola, apparently referring to the poverty of one of the Aurelii during the First Punic War. Cotta, the surname of the oldest and most illustrious branch of the Aurelii under the Republic, probably refers to a cowlick, or unruly shock of hair; but its derivation is uncertain, and an alternative explanation might be that it derives from a dialectical form of cocta, literally "cooked", or in this case "sunburnt".
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The nomen Canidius belongs to a common class of gentilicia formed from cognomina ending in '. It is derived from the cognomen Canidus, "whitish" or "greyish", itself derived from the Latin adjective canus or kanus, "white, grey", typically referring to the color of a person's hair, also sometimes used as a cognomen.Chase, pp. 121, 122.
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Of the cognomina borne by the Scaevinii, Capito originally described someone with a large or prominent head, while Quadratus, literally "square" might describe someone stocky, or particularly angular.Chase, p. 109.New College Latin & English Dictionary, s. v. quadratus. Proculus, of which Procilla is a diminutive, was an old Roman praenomen that later became a surname.
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Cassell's Latin and English Dictionary, s.v. severus. All three cognomina were associated with the imperial family. They were of equestrian rank, and had probably lived in Leptis Magna for some time, for Statius addressed one of his poems to a certain Septimius Severus of that city.Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol.
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Piso's full nomenclature is somewhat uncertain. Tacitus simply refers to him as Lucius Piso, while the Fasti Albenses call him Lucius Calpurnius Piso.Fasti Albenses, . He is sometimes called Lucius Calpurnius Piso Pontifex, to distinguish him from his contemporary, Lucius Calpurnius Piso Augur, although both Pontifex and Augur are simply nicknames, rather than true cognomina.
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The only cognomen associated with the Tarquitii of the Republic is Flaccus, a common surname originally describing someone flabby, or with floppy ears.Chase, p. 109. The other Tarquitii of the Republic bore no surname, but a variety of cognomina are found in imperial times, including Priscus, old or elder, and Catulus, a whelp.Chase, pp.
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Carter, Jesse Benedict, "The Cognomina of the Goddess 'Fortuna,'" Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association, Vol. 31, 1900, p. 66. She was meant to persuade Romans of both sexes and every class, whether married or unmarried, to cherish the traditional sexual proprieties and morality known to please the gods and benefit the State.
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The chief families of the Caninii bore the cognomina Gallus and Rebilus. The surname Satrius is also found, and there was a Caninius Sallustius, who was adopted by some member of this gens. Gallus was a common surname, which may refer to a Gaul, or to a cock.Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, William Smith, Editor.
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Two cognomina of the gens are known from Republican times: Celer, which means "swift", belonged to a family of the Ninnii at Capua during the Second Punic War. The surname Quadratus is found amongst the Ninnii at Rome in the time of Cicero. The consular family of imperial times bore the cognomen Hasta, or the derived Hastianus.
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The nomen Sepullius belongs to a class of gentilicia apparently formed from cognomina ending in the diminutive suffix '.Chase, pp. 123, 124. In this case, the nomen would have derived from Sepulus or a similar name, presumably a diminutive of the old Latin praenomen Septimus, originally given to a seventh son or seventh child, or Seppius, its Oscan equivalent.
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The nomen Trebonius belongs to a large class of gentilicia formed using the suffix ', originally applied to cognomina ending in ', but later used as a regular gentile-forming suffix, and applied in cases for which there was no morphological justification. These gentes were largely plebeian, and the form Terebonius strongly hints at an Oscan origin.Chase, pp. 119, 120.
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Cassell's Latin & English Dictionary, s. v. rufus. A few other persons named Octavius were not descended from Gnaeus Octavius Rufus, or whose descent cannot be traced. They bore cognomina such as Balbus, Ligur, Marsus, and Naso. Balbus was a common surname, referring to one who stammers, while Naso is thought to refer to someone with a prominent nose.
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The nomen Scandilius belongs to a large class of gentilicia formed using the suffix -, usually from cognomina with diminutive endings such as -ilus or -ulus. The root of the name appears to be Scantillus, perhaps a diminutive of Scantius, another gentile name, which also seems to have given rise to the nomen Scantinius.Chase, pp. 122–126.
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The cognomina of the Atii are Balbus, Rufus, and Varus. The Atii Balbi were from the city of Aricia. The Venetian scholar Paulus Manutius conjectured that the family of the Labieni belonged to the Atia gens, which opinion has been followed by most modern writers. However, Spanheim pointed out that there was no authority for this.
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The two main families of the Scribonii under the Republic bore the cognomina Libo and Curio. Other surnames are found under the Empire. Libo, the only surname of the Scribonii to occur on coins, is apparently derived from libere, to sprinkle or pour, and was probably given to an ancestor of the family who poured libations.Chase, p. 111.
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The family-names and surnames of the Aelia gens are Catus, Gallus, Gracilis, Lamia, Ligur, Paetus, Staienus, Stilo, and Tubero. The only cognomina found on coins are Bala, Lamia, Paetus, and Sejanus. Of Bala nothing is known. Sejanus is the name of the favorite of the emperor Tiberius, who was adopted by one of the Aelii.
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Among the cognomina borne by the Papii at Rome were Celsus, Mutilus, and Faustus. Celsus would have been given to someone who was conspicuously tall, while Mutilus refers to someone maimed or deformed. Faustus, meaning "fortunate" or "lucky", was an old praenomen that came into widespread use as a surname during imperial times.New College Latin & English Dictionary, s. v.
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The only families of the Persii known to have been distinguished by their surnames bore the cognomina Flaccus and Severus. Flaccus, a common surname that translates as "flabby", "droopy", or "flop-eared", was borne by the family of the poet. Severus, also a common surname, meaning "serious" or "stern", belonged to another family of Volaterrae.Chase, pp. 109–111.
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The nomen Suellius appears to belong to a class of gentilicia typically formed from cognomina with diminutive endings, such as ', or the double diminutive ', but occasionally formed directly from surnames without these endings.Chase, pp. 122–124. The greater number of Suellii mentioned in inscriptions came from Samnium, strongly indicating that this gens was of Samnite origin.
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Denarius of Gaius Mamilius Limetanus. The obverse (not pictured) features a head of Mercury; on the reverse, Odysseus is welcomed by his hound. The Mamilii were divided into three families, with the cognomina Limetanus, Turrinus, and Vitulus, of which the two latter were the most ancient and important. Limetanus is the only surname which occurs on coins.
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The cognomina Regillus and Buca apparently belonged to short-lived families. Regillus appears to be derived from the Sabine town of Regillum, perhaps alluding to the Sabine origin of the gens. The Aemilii Regilli flourished for about two generations, beginning at the time of the Second Punic War.Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol.
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Cognomina are known from the beginning of the Republic, but were long regarded as informal names, and omitted from most official records before the second century BC. Later inscriptions commemorating the early centuries of the Republic supply these missing surnames, although the authenticity of some of them has been disputed. Under the Empire, however, the cognomen acquired great importance, and the number of cognomina assumed by the Roman aristocracy multiplied exponentially. Adding to the complexity of aristocratic names was the practice of combining the full nomenclature of both one's paternal and maternal ancestors, resulting in some individuals appearing to have two or more complete names. Duplicative or politically undesirable names might be omitted, while the order of names might be rearranged to emphasize those giving the bearer the greatest prestige.
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The nomen Septicius belongs to a class of gentilicia originally formed from cognomina ending in ' or '. As with other gentile-forming suffixes, ' was later extended to form nomina from other names, including existing gentilicia.Chase, p. 126. The root of the name must have resembled the rare Latin praenomen Septimus, "seventh", in which case Septicius may be cognate with the more typical patronymic Septimius.
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There is no indication that the Secundii were ever divided into distinct families, and they used a wide variety of surnames under the Empire. A number of them bore cognomina derived, like their gentilicium, from numerals, including Primus and its diminutive, Primulus, Secundinus, a derivative of Secundus, and Tertius, third, all presumably alluding to the meaning of their nomen.Chase, pp. 111, 150, 151.
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None of the Raecii who appear in history during the Republic bore any cognomen, but the Raecii of imperial times used a variety of common surnames. Taurus, a bull, Gallus, a cockerel, and Leo, a lion, belong to a common type of cognomina derived from the names of familiar objects and animals.New College Latin & English Dictionary, s. v. taurus, gallus, leo.
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There were two main families of the Villii, bearing the cognomina Annalis and Tappulus. The former was given in consequence of Lucius Villius, tribune of the plebs in 179 BC, and author of the lex Villia Annalis, establishing the minimum age (annus, literally a person's "year") at which candidates could stand for public offices.Livy, xl. 44.Dictionary of Greek and Roman Mythology, vol.
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The nomen Ragonius belongs to a class of gentilicia formed using the suffix , typically of plebeian origin, and frequently of Oscan ancestry. Such names were originally formed from cognomina ending in -o, but once they became common, came to be regarded as a regular gentile-forming suffix, and was used in cases where it had no morphological justification.Chase, pp. 118, 119.
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Too few Viridii are known to tell if they were ever divided into distinct families. Two cognomina appear in extant inscriptions: Firmus, a common surname that translates as "firm, strong, hardy",New College Latin & English Dictionary, s. v. firmus. and Tertulla, a diminutive of Tertia, an old feminine praenomen, which was widely used as a surname throughout Roman history.Chase, pp. 168–173.
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The three great patrician families of the Quinctia gens bore the cognomina Capitolinus, Cincinnatus, and Flamininus. Besides these we find Quinctii with the surnames Atta, Claudus, Crispinus, Hirpinus, Scapula, and Trogus. A few members of the gens bore no cognomen. The only surname that occurs on coins is that of Crispinus Sulpicianus, which is found on coins struck in the time of Augustus.
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Pasidius appears to belong to a class of gentilicia derived from other names, chiefly cognomina, using the suffix -idius. Morphologically, this implies that the name was formed from another name or word ending in -idus, but as with other gentile-forming suffixes, -idius became stereotyped, and was sometimes used in cases when there was no morphological justification for it.Chase, pp. 121, 122.
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The Rubrii of the Republic bore the cognomina Dossenus, Ruga, and Varro, of which Dossenus is known only from coins. Other surnames are found in imperial times. A number of Rubrii had no cognomen. Of these, Gallus, a cockerel, and Nepos, grandson, seem to have represented distinct families, each of whom rose to the consulship during the latter part of the first century.
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The only prominent family of the Cincii bore the cognomen Alimentus, presumably derived from alimentum, "food", suggesting that the ancestors of the family may have been cooks. Other cognomina of the Cincii included Faliscus, a Faliscan, Salvius, an Oscan praenomen, and Severus, a common surname meaning "grave, serious," or "severe". Several Cincii are mentioned without a surname.D.P. Simpson, Cassell's Latin & English Dictionary (1963).
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The Fulvii of the Republic bore a variety of cognomina, including Bambalio, Centumalus, Curvus, Flaccus, Gillo, Nobilior, Paetinus, and Veratius or Neratius. Curvus, which means "bent" or "crooked," is the first cognomen of the Fulvii to occur in history, and belongs to a large class of surnames derived from a person's physical characteristics.Chase, p. 110.New College Latin & English Dictionary, s.v. curvus.
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All of the cognomina borne by the Saenii who appear in history seem to be personal surnames. They included the ubiquitous Severus, stern or severe, Donatus, gifted, and probably Balbinus, a diminutive of Balbus, one who stammers. Pompeianus, borne by one of the family, probably indicates that he was descended from the Pompeian gens through one of his maternal ancestors.Chase, pp.
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A few Valerii are known without any cognomina, but they achieved little of significance. Poplicola, also found as Publicola and Poplicula, belongs to a class of surnames referring to the character of the bearer. Derived from populus and colo, the name might best be explained as "one who courts the people."Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol.
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The Satrieni used a variety of common surnames, including Pollio, a polisher, belonging to a class of cognomina derived from occupations; Salvia and Secunda, old praenomina that came to be regarded as surnames; Juvenalis, youthful, and perhaps Celsa, originally given to one who was particularly tall.Chase, pp. 111, 141, 150, 151, 172.New College Latin & English Dictionary, s. v. juvenalis.
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Among those cognomina appearing in history are Rocus, from raucus, "hoarse, shouting, raucous", and Gallus, a common surname with two ambivalent derivations: from gallus, a cockerel, belonging to a common class of surnames derived from the names of familiar objects and animals; or Gallus, a Gaul, frequently applied to persons of Gallic descent, appearance, or habits.Chase, pp. 110, 114.New College Latin & English Dictionary, s. vv.
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The nomen Scaevinius belongs to a class of gentilicia formed using the suffix -inius, typically derived from cognomina ending in -inus. The root of the name is probably Scaevinus, although -inius came to be regarded as a regular gentile-forming suffix, and might have been applied directly to Scaevius, an existing gentile name. The nomen Scaevilius seems to have arisen in the same manner.Chase, pp. 123–126.
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There is no evidence that the Seccii were ever divided into distinct families. The surname Dentatus, borne by one of the earliest appearing in history, referred to someone with prominent teeth.Chase, p. 109. The other cognomina of this gens occur largely in imperial times, when they used a great variety, some of which were the original names of freedmen who adopted Roman names upon their manumission.
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Pasidienus would therefore have been derived from an older nomen, Pasidius, which is indeed found in a number of instances. The suffix -idius was originally used to form gentilicia from cognomina ending in -idus; but as with other gentile-forming suffixes, -idius was stereotyped, and occasionally appears in cases where there is no morphological justification. There is no evidence of a corresponding cognomen, Pasidus.Chase, pp.
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The result was that vast numbers of individuals who had never possessed praenomina or nomina formally shared the same names. In turn, many of the "new Romans" promptly discarded their praenomina, and ignored their nomina except when required by formality. As a result, the cognomina adopted by these citizens, often including their original non-Latin names, became the most important part of their nomenclature.
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The Cornelian gens included both patricians and plebeians, but all of its major families were patrician. The surnames Arvina, Blasio, Cethegus, Cinna, Cossus, Dolabella, Lentulus, Maluginensis, Mammula, Merenda, Merula, Rufinus, Scapula, Scipio, Sisenna, and Sulla belonged to patrician Cornelii, while the plebeian cognomina included Balbus and Gallus. Other surnames are known from freedmen, including Chrysogonus, Culleolus, Phagita, and others. A number of plebeian Cornelii had no cognomen.
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Other branches had other cognomina; during the Republic there were no Cornelii who did not belong to some branch of the ancient clan. As branches developed, each was identified by its own agnomen, such as Africanus. The formal names of the Cornelii were thus at least two names long; in the late Republic, three or more. Individual names, or praenomina, offered but little more variation.
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The nomen Laecanius seems to belong to a class of gentilicia formed using the sufix -anius, typically derived from cognomina ending in -anus, or derived from other "a-stem" words.Chase, p. 118. The name might be derived from the surname Laeca, which was used by a family of the Porcia gens, or from the same root.Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol.
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The nomen Balonius belongs to a class of gentilicia formed using the suffix ', originally applied to cognomina ending in ', but later used as a regular gentile-forming suffix, without regard to the orthography of the root. These nomina tended to be of plebeian origin, and were frequently Oscan. Chase suggests that Balonius might be derived from the cognomen Bala, perhaps from Latin balare, "to bleat".Chase, pp.
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The Salieni used a variety of cognomina, most of which appear to have been personal surnames. The majority belong to common types of cognomen, derived from an individual's personal characteristics. Clemens refers to someone with a mild temperament, while Fortunatus is "fortunate", Pudens "modest", Pulcher "beautiful", Sedatus "calm". Fuscianus is a derivative of Fuscus, "dark", while Rufus would originally have been given to someone with red hair.
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The oldest branches of the Valerii bore the surnames Poplicola, Potitus, and Maximus, with Volusus being used by the first generations of the Potiti and Maximi. Later families bore various cognomina, including Corvus or Corvinus, Falto, Flaccus, Laevinus, Messalla, Tappo, and Triarius. Most other surnames found in Republican times belonged to freedmen or clientes of the Valerii. The surnames Acisculus, Catullus, Flaccus, and Barbatus appear on coins.
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The nomen Satellius belongs to a class of gentilicia formed mainly from cognomina ending in the diminutive suffixes -illus and -ellus. There is no evidence of a surname Satellus, so the nomen is probably derived from satelles, an attendant, follower, or by extension, a bodyguard; the same word is the source of the English satellite.Chase, p. 124.New College Latin & English Dictionary, s. v. satelles.
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Like many other gentes that came to prominence in imperial times, the Servenii cannot be clearly divided into distinct families, unless the Servenii of Acmonia in Asia constituted a single family. They bore cognomina such as Capito, originally a nickname for someone with a large or prominent head,Chase, p. 109. and Cornutus, an old surname probably referring to callous or horny skin.New College Latin & English Dictionary, s.v.v. cornus.
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The nomen Opellius seems to belong to a class of gentilicia formed from cognomina using the diminutive suffix -illius or -ellius. It might thus be related to similar nomina, such as Obellius or Ofilius.Chase, p. 124. Most of the Opellii named in inscriptions cannot be precisely dated, but it may be significant that some of them are from Praeneste, an ancient Latin city, and perhaps the origin of the gens...
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The nomen Ranius resembles other gentilicia formed using the suffix -anius, typically derived from place names and cognomina ending in -anus.Chase, p. 118. No corresponding location or surname is known, but the root of the nomen resembles rana, a frog, and as a cognomen could have belonged to a common class of surnames derived from the names of familiar animals and objects.New College Latin & English Dictionary, s. v. rana.
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The Remmii largely confined themselves to the most common praenomina, particularly Marcus, Lucius, Gaius, Publius, and Quintus. One of the women of this gens bore the feminine praenomen Prima. Other women of the Remmii bore individualizing surnames derived from old praenomina, identical in form but placed at the end of the name, like cognomina, including Maxima, Octavia, Salvia, and Secunda, as well as Tertullina, a diminutive of Tertia.
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Felix, happy, and Firmus, strong, Hilarus, cheerful, Rufus, red, and Venustus, charming or handsome, were all common names; Laetus, glad, and Orientis, eastern, were more distinctive. A number of other surnames borne by both the men and women of the Rennii were also old praenomina, or similar individualizing cognomina, including Maxima, eldest, Prima, first, Secundus, second, and Tertius, third.Chase, pp. 110, 111, 145, 150, 165, 167, 171, 172.
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Each entry gives the full name of the magistrate who triumphed, beginning with his praenomen (normally abbreviated), nomen gentilicium, filiation, and cognomina (if any). Following these names are the magistracy or promagistracy held, the names of the defeated enemies or conquered territories, and the date that the triumph was celebrated. Roman numerals indicate those individuals who held the magistracy in question multiple times, or who received multiple triumphs.
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However, the library, though dispersed, is remembered because of the catalogueBibliothecae Josephi Renati Imperialis: Sanctae romanae ecclesiae diaconi Cardinalis Sancti Georgii Catalogus secundum auctorum Cognomina, by Giusto Fontanini, Rome (1711) Ex Officina typographica Francisci Gonzagae in Via Lata. prepared in 1711 by its librarian, Giusto Fontanini (1666-1736). This voluminous achievement was begun in 1697, and continued by his successor, Domenico Giorgi.Manus, Censimento dei manoscritti delle biblioteche italiane, entry on Fontanini.
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The only cognomina associated with the Tarpeii of the Republic are Montanus and Capitolinus, both of which belong to a class of surnames derived from the names of places, in this case both probably referring to the original residence of the Tarpeii, on the Capitoline Hill.Chase, p. 114. The Tarpeii of imperial times bore common surnames such as Valens, powerful, and Faustus, fortunate.New College Latin & English Dictionary, s. v. valens.
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The nomen Terentilius belongs to a large class of gentilicia derived from other names, typically cognomina ending in diminutive suffixes such as -ulus and -illus.Chase, pp. 122–124. Here the name may be formed from another nomen, Terentius, for which the diminutive Terentillus is found. The antiquarian Varro, himself a member of the Terentia gens, derived this name from terenus, a Sabine word meaning "soft",Macrobius, ii. 9.
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At Rome, this name, and its diminutive, Mamercinus, were known primarily as cognomina of the Aemilii and the Pinarii, although the Aemilii continued to use it as a praenomen.Chase, pp. 114, 140, 141. A surname of the later Aemilii, Regillus, seems to be derived from the Sabine town of Regillum, better known as the ancestral home of the Claudian gens, and perhaps alludes to the Sabine origin of the Aemilii.
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It seems probable that the nomen Novellius belongs to a class of gentilicia formed either from diminutives of other names, or from cognomina, using the suffix -ellius. In this case, the nomen is apparently derived from the Oscan praenomen Novius, marking the Novellii as a family of Oscan origin.Chase, pp. 122–124. The greatest number of Novellii known from extant inscriptions lived in Mediolanum and the province of Cisalpine Gaul.
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According to Varro, there was a goddess Numeria, to whom women prayed during childbirth. She was mentioned in the ancient prayers recited by the Pontifex Maximus, and Varro writes that the praenomen Numerius was given to children who were born quickly. As with other gentilicia that share a form with praenomina and cognomina, it is often difficult to determine whether persons named Numerius bore it as a praenomen, nomen, or cognomen.
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The Sabucii used a variety of personal cognomina. The only family surname known from inscriptions is Major, typically given to the elder of two or more siblings; the cognomen Magnus, great, borne by one of the other Sabucii, might suggest a connection to this family. Sabinus usually designated someone of Sabine ancestry, but might also refer to one who resembled a Sabine in his manner or habits.Chase, pp.
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There is no evidence that the Resii were ever divided into distinct families, and all of their surnames have the appearance of personal cognomina, such as Asper, rough, Aster, a star, Genialis, genial, and Severus, stern.New College Latin & English Dictionary, s. v. asper, aster, genialis, severus. Albanus would probably belong to a class of surnames derived from the town of the bearer's origin, perhaps indicating that his family had lived in the Alban Hills.
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In the time of the Republic, there were three main branches of the Porcii, bearing the surnames Laeca, Licinus, and Cato, of which the most illustrious was Cato. Other cognomina are found under the Empire. The surname Cato is said to have been bestowed upon Cato the Elder in consequence of his shrewdness; before this, Plutarch says that he bore the cognomen Priscus, "the elder".Plutarch, "The Life of Cato the Elder", 1.
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Placidianus' nomen, Iulius, may indicate a Gallic origin as many Gallic families became Roman citizens under the patronage of the Julio-Claudian Emperors. However, in the two centuries since the death of the last of the Julio-Caludians, Nero, Julian clans could well have become much more widely dispersed geographically. His cognomen, Placidianus, is not sufficiently common to suggest any geographical focus for those choosing it.See Kajanto, I. Roman Cognomina, Helsinki, 1965.
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The main praenomina of the Avieni were Sextus and Titus, with a few other names receiving occasional use, including Gaius, Publius, and Quintus. All of these were very common throughout Roman history. One family of the Avieni at Ostia used Sextus alone, and were differentiated by their cognomina, a phenomenon sometimes referred to as the "fossilization" of a praenomen, which became common in imperial times.Salomies, Adoptive and Polyonymous Nomenclature in the Roman Empire.
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As Roman territory expanded beyond Italy, many foreigners obtained Roman citizenship, and adopted Roman names. Often these were discharged auxiliary soldiers, or the leaders of annexed towns and peoples. Customarily a newly enfranchised citizen would adopt the praenomen and nomen of his patron; that is, the person who had adopted or manumitted him, or otherwise procured his citizenship. But many such individuals retained a portion of their original names, usually in the form of cognomina.
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The only distinct family of the Rustii bore the surname Caepio, from caepa, an onion, one of a large class of cognomina derived from the names of familiar objects, plants, and animals. Members of this family appear in history for about two hundred years, from the first century BC to the second century AD.Chase, pp. 112, 113. Gallus, used by one of the family, referred either to a cockerel, or a Gaul.
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The nomen Popillius resembles other names ending in -illius and -ellius, which were generally formed directly from cognomina, but perhaps, like Poplius, it should be classified with those ending in -ilus, typically formed from other names and words ending in -ulus, which could, like Popillius, be spelled with either a single or double 'l'. This suggests that the root of the nomen is the Latin word populus, the people.Chase, pp. 122–124.
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The nomen Suillius appears to belong to a class of gentilicia typically formed from cognomina with diminutive endings, such as ', or the double diminutive ', but occasionally formed directly from surnames without these endings.Chase, pp. 122–124. Plutarch derives the name from suillus, a Latin adjective relating to swine, which he notes were, along with other livestock, among the principal measures of value in early Rome.Plutarch, "The Life of Poplicola", 11; "Quaestiones Romanae", 41.
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Chase, pp. 111, 114. Other cognomina are found in imperial times, including Maximus, given to an eldest brother, or someone particularly notable; Regulus, a diminutive of rex, a king, used by a number of old Roman families; Pollio, a polisher, particularly of armour; Afer, referring to the province of Africa; and Senecio, a diminutive of senex, an old man.Chase, pp. 111, 112, 116.New College Latin & English Dictionary, s. v. Afer, senex.
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Denarius of Gaius Fabius Hadrianus, 102 BC. On the obverse is the head of Cybele, a possible allusion to the visit to Rome of Battaces, a priest of Magna Mater.Diodorus Siculus, xxxvi. 13. The reverse depicts Victoria driving a biga, with a flamingo below. The cognomina of the Fabii under the Republic were Ambustus, Buteo, Dorso or Dorsuo, Labeo, Licinus, Maximus (with the agnomina Aemilianus, Allobrogicus, Eburnus, Gurges, Rullianus, Servilianus, and Verrucosus), Pictor, and Vibulanus.
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Various names that were originally nomina or cognomina came to be treated as praenomina, and some individuals used several of them at once. However, some vestiges of the original system survived, and many of the original praenomina have continued into modern times.Dictionary of Greek & Roman Biography & MythologyT. R. S. Broughton, Magistrates of the Roman Republic (1952) Most common praenomina were regularly abbreviated in writing (in speech the full name would always be used).
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With respect to personal names, the Etruscans borrowed a large number of praenomina from Latin and Oscan, adding them to their own unique names. The Etruscan language is still imperfectly known, and the number of inscriptions are limited, so this list of Etruscan praenomina encompasses what has been discovered to this point. Included are names that are certainly praenomina, no matter their linguistic origin. Names that might be nomina or cognomina have not been included.
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The nomen Sabellius belongs to a class of gentilicia typically formed directly from cognomina ending in -illus and -ellus, typically diminutive suffixes. The surname Sabellus referred to a member of the Oscan- speaking peoples of central and southern Italy, particularly the Sabines, Marsi, Samnites, and their relatives, and thus the name belongs to a common type of cognomen derived from the names of peoples and places of origin.Chase, pp. 113, 114, 124.
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The main cognomina of the Considii were Gallus, Longus, Nonianus, and Paetus. Gallus may refer to a Gaul, or to a cockerel. Longus implies that the bearer was tall, or perhaps "long-winded", although the name could also have been bestowed ironically on a short man. Nonianus implies a connection with the gens Nonia, although whether the two brothers bearing it were adopted from that family, or descended from it through the maternal line, cannot be determined.
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The only distinct family of the Remmii under the Republic bore the surname Rufus, originally given to someone with red hair.Chase, p. 110. Most of the other surnames of the Remmii seem to have been personal cognomina, many of them belonging to freedmen, and indicating their original names. Of those that represent traditional Roman surnames, Faustus, fortunate, was an old praenomen that came to be widely used as a cognomen in the late Republic and imperial times.
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There is no evidence that the Scaevii were ever divided into distinct families. Their cognomina all appear to have been personal surnames, many of which were the original names of freedmen who had assumed Roman names upon their manumission. Among the other surnames of this family, Laevinus, left- handed, alludes to the etymology of the nomen Scaevius. Maximus was a common surname typically given to an eldest son, or to the most illustrious member of a family.
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The nomen Seccius seems to be derived from the cognomen Secus. Chase classifies it among those gentilicia that either originated at Rome, or cannot be shown to have come from anywhere else.Chase, p. 131. The surname Campanus, borne by the consul Secius, belongs to a class of cognomina derived from places of origin or residence, and indicates that at least some of this family claimed Campanian ancestry, or some other connection with that region of Italy.
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The Servilii were divided into numerous families; of these the names in the Republican period are Ahala, Axilla, Caepio, Casca, Geminus, Glaucia, Globulus, Priscus (with the agnomen Fidenas), Rullus, Structus, Tucca, and Vatia (with the agnomen Isauricus). The Structi, Prisci, Ahalae, and Caepiones were patricians; the Gemini originally patrician, and later plebeian; the Vatiae and Cascae plebeians. Other cognomina appear under the Empire. The only surnames found on coins are those of Ahala, Caepio, Casca, and Rullus.
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The Julii of the Republic used the praenomina Lucius, Gaius, and Sextus. There are also instances of Vopiscus and Spurius in the early generations of the family. The earliest of the Julii appearing in legend bore the praenomen Proculus, and it is possible that this name was used by some of the early Julii, although no later examples are known. In the later Republic and imperial times, Vopiscus and Proculus were generally used as personal cognomina.
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History preserves no traditions concerning the origin of the Livian gens. Although its members are not found in the first two centuries of the Republic, there is nothing in particular to suggest a foreign origin. The regular cognomina of the Livii are all Latin. The nomen Livius is generally supposed to be derived from the same root as liveo, lividus, and livor, all with the meaning of leaden or bluish-grey, but this connection is not absolutely certain.
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1121 ("Murena"). Of the other surnames of the Licinii might be mentioned Nerva, the surname of a family of the Licinii that flourished from the time of the Second Punic War until the early Empire, derived from nervus, "sinewy"; Geta, perhaps the name of a Thracian people, to whom one of the Licinii might have been compared;The New College Latin & English Dictionary, "Geta". and Sacerdos, a priest, one of a number of cognomina derived from occupations.Chase, pp.
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The chief family of the Cassii in the time of the Republic bears the name of Longinus. The other cognomina during this time are Parmensis, Sabaco, Varus, and Viscellinus. One of the earliest Roman historians was Lucius Cassius Hemina, whose cognomen—unique in Roman history—comes from a unit of measure of about half a pint, or a quarter litre, perhaps an allusion to his short stature.John Briscoe, in Cornell (ed.), Fragments of the Roman Historians, vol.
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As was often the case in imperial times, all of the individuals known from the family of the Valae bore the same praenomen, Gaius, as do most of the other Numonii mentioned in inscriptions. However, a set of inscriptions from the ancient Etruscan city of Caere, likely among the oldest, as the individuals named have no cognomina, demonstrate that the Numonii also used Aulus and Lucius. In other inscriptions we find examples of Gnaeus and Quintus.
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Flaccus was a cognomen of the ancient Roman plebeian family Fulvius, considered one of the most illustrious gentes of the city. Cicero and Pliny the Elder state that the family was originally from Tusculum, and that members still lived there in the 1st century. As usual for cognomina, "Flaccus" was likely originally a nickname, probably of Marcus Fulvius Flaccus, the founder of the family. It has been variously interpreted as meaning "big ears", "flop ears", "floppy", or "fatty".
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According to Dionysius, the Lartii at the outset of the Republic bore the surname Flavus. However, Rufus is found in place of Flavus in some inscriptions. As the consuls of the early Republic are known to have been brothers, it seems possible that one of them, having fair hair, was called Flavus, while the other, having red hair, was called Rufus. The cognomina are now so confused that it is impossible to determine which was which.
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Asiaticus, the surname of the only major family of the Valerian gens to emerge in imperial times, belongs to a class of cognomina typically derived from the locations of military exploits.Chase, pp. 113, 114. In this instance the source of the name is not apparent, although it might allude to some connection with the Cornelii Scipiones; Lucius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus was the younger brother of Scipio Africanus, and his surname was passed down in his family for several generations.
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Lucius GelliusThe cognomen Publicola, given by some sources, belongs only to his adopted son, the consul of 36 BC. Ernst Badian, "The Clever and the Wise: Two Roman cognomina in context", Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies, supplement 51 (1988), pp. 6–12, , ; entry in Oxford Classical Dictionary (c. 136 BCOxford Classical Dictionary, "Gellius, Lucius" – c. 54 BC) was a Roman politician and general who was one of two Consuls of the Republic in 72 BC along with Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus Clodianus.
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The Cestii do not appear to have been divided into distinct families. The cognomina Gallus, Macedonicus, Proculus, and Severus were probably personal surnames, as was Pius, a rhetorician and a native of Smyrna, who was perhaps a freedman of the gens. Gallus refers to a cockerel, or to someone of Gallic extraction. Macedonicus alluded to the military service of one of the Cestii in Macedonia, while Proculus was an old praenomen that came to be used as a surname in many families.
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The main families of the Terentii used the cognomina Culleo, Lucanus, and Varro. Of these, Varro seems to be derived from the same root as the Latin baro, a fool; Culleo refers to a leather sack or pouch, and may have referred to a leatherworker; while Lucanus signified an inhabitant of Lucania, and must have been given to one of the Terentii who either came from or perhaps had some connection with that region, or its people.Chase, pp. 111–114.
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The only family of the Pinarii mentioned in the early days of the Republic bore the cognomen Mamercinus. Later, the surnames of Natta, Posca, Rusca, and Scarpus appear, but no members of these families obtained the consulship. Natta and Scarpus are the only cognomina that occur on coins. The family of the Pinarii Mamercini, all of whom bore the agnomen Rufus, meaning "red", derived their surname from the praenomen Mamercus, which must have been borne by an ancestor of the gens.
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From at least the time of the early Republic, the Papirii are divided into a number of branches, or stirpes, distinguished by their surnames. Cicero lists the patrician cognomina of the Papirii as Crassus, Cursor, Maso, and Mugillanus, while the plebeian families included those of Carbo, Paetus, and Turdus. The Papirii Mugillani were the first of these families to obtain the consulship. Their surname was derived from an ancient city of Latium known as Mugilla, the ancestral home of the Papirii.
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Most of the Suellii known from epigraphy lived during imperial times, when the surnames assumed by the Roman nobility were highly changeable, but a distinct family of the Suellii at Ligures Baebiani, where they bore the cognomina Flaccus and Rufus. Both of these belonged to an abundant type of cognomen derived from the physical features of individuals, with Flaccus designating someone flabby, or with large or floppy ears, while Rufus, "reddish", usually referred to someone with red hair.Chase, pp. 109, 110.
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The name Camillo is the Italian male version of Camilla. Camillus came to be used as a cognomen in Rome, and Camilla would be the feminine form of this cognomen from a period when cognomina had become hereditary clan names. The most notable bearer of this name in Roman history is Marcus Furius Camillus (c. 446 – 365 BC), who according to Livy and Plutarch, triumphed four times, was five times dictator, and was honoured with the title of "Second Founder of Rome".
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The family-names of the Calpurnii under the Republic are Bestia, Bibulus, Flamma, and Piso. Piso was the name of the greatest family of the Calpurnia gens. Like many other cognomina, this name is connected with agriculture, and comes from the verb pisere or pinsere, which refers to the pounding or grinding of corn. The family first rose from obscurity during the Second Punic War, and from that time it became one of the most distinguished in the Roman state.
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The nomen Sabidius belongs to a large class of gentilicia formed using the suffix -idius. These typically formed from cognomina ending in -idus, but the suffix was one of a number which came to be regarded as a regular gentile-forming suffix, and was applied even in cases where there was no morphological justification. There is no evidence of a surname Sabidus, but the name might be etymologically related to Safini, an Oscan name for the Sabines and their descendants.Chase, pp.
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The Rennii do not appear to have been divided into distinct families, and all of their surnames appear to have been personal cognomina, many of them probably having been the original names of freedmen of the gens. Of those that were more typical of Roman surnames, Aestivus refers to the summer, and was probably given to someone born during that season. Candidus means gleaming white, and could refer to one's hair or clothing. Crispinus, a diminutive of Crispus, referred to someone with curly hair.
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None of the Didii mentioned during the Republic is known to have borne a cognomen. A number of surnames are found under the Empire, of which the only one that appears to be a family name is Gallus. This cognomen, referring to a cockerel, belongs to an abundant class of cognomina derived from the names of everyday objects and animals. The same surname could also refer to a Gaul, indicating someone of Gaulish descent, or whose appearance or character resembled that of a Gaul.
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The chief praenomina used by the Licinii were Publius, Gaius, Lucius, and Marcus, all of which were very common throughout Roman history. The family occasionally used Sextus, and there is at least one instance of Gnaeus during the first century BC. Aulus was used by the Licinii Nervae. As in other Roman families, the women of the Licinii generally did not have formal praenomina, but were referred to simply as Licinia; if further distinction were needed, they would be described using various personal or family cognomina.
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The surname Rufus, meaning "red", probably referred to the color of the hair of one of the Sulpicii, and may have begun as a cadet branch of the Camerini, as both cognomina were united in the consul of 345 BC.Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol. III, pp. 945–947 ("Sulpicius Rufus"). Several Sulpicii bearing this surname appear towards the end of the Republic, but as some appear to have been patricians and others plebeians, they may have constituted two distinct families.
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But as the praenomen lost its value as a distinguishing name, and gradually faded into obscurity, its former role was assumed by the versatile cognomen, and the typical manner of identifying individuals came to be by nomen and cognomen; essentially one form of binomial nomenclature was replaced by another, over the course of several centuries. The very lack of regularity that allowed the cognomen to be used as either a personal or a hereditary surname became its strength in imperial times; as a hereditary surname, a cognomen could be used to identify an individual's connection with other noble families, either by descent, or later by association. Individual cognomina could also be used to distinguish between members of the same family; even as siblings came to share the same praenomen, they bore different cognomina, some from the paternal line, and others from their maternal ancestors. Although the nomen was a required element of Roman nomenclature down to the end of the western empire, its usefulness as a distinguishing name declined throughout imperial times, as an increasingly large portion of the population bore nomina such as Flavius or Aurelius, which had been granted en masse to newly enfranchised citizens.
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Since names were, generally, repeatedly applied in Roman families -- even to the point of having several sons with the same nomen but differing cognomina -- it remains plausible that an earlier Pontius inspired the name. It is not known if this is the same name as Ponza or a similar name. Also, Pontia means "Land of Bridges" in Latin, a name which could have been applied for Ponza's many naturally occurring arches and bridge-like landforms. Another theory is that the name is of Greek origin, from Greek pontos, πόντος, sea (see also Pontus).
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With the exception of a single individual named Gaius, all of the Septueii known from inscriptions bear the praenomen Quintus, indicating that the family was relatively small, and of late origin; in imperial times it was common for all of the sons in a family to share the same praenomen, and be distinguished by their cognomina. This is especially probable if the Septueii only acquired Roman citizenship under the early Empire, or if a number of them were descended from the freedmen of an earlier Quintus Septueius.Salway, "What's in a Name?", pp.
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The Considii were an old family, first appearing early in the fifth century BC. However, they quickly faded into obscurity, from which they did not emerge for nearly four centuries. The nomen Considius belongs to a large class of gentilicia formed chiefly from cognomina ending in -idus, using the suffix -idius, which came to be thought of as a regular gentile-forming suffix, and was applied even in cases where there was no morphological justification. Considius might be formed from the nomen of the gens Consia, itself probably related to the mysterious god Consus.Chase, pp.
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All that can be said with certainty about the nomen Scantius is that it seems to share a common root with several other nomina, such as Scandilius, Scantilius, and Scantinius, which were either formed directly from it using the common gentile-forming suffixes - and -, or from related cognomina, such as Scandillus, Scantillus, or Scantinus, of which only the feminine Scantilla is known from history or inscriptions; the wife of Didius Julianus was Manlia Scantilla.Chase, pp. 122–126.Aelius Spartianus, "The Life of Didius Julianus", 3. ("Naevia Scantilla"), ("Scantilla, daughter of Senilis").
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The senator Publius Albius, known from a decree of the Roman Senate dating to 129 BC, bore no surname; under the Republic many plebeian families had no hereditary cognomina. The surname Oppianicus, known from the family of Larinum, indicates that this family may previously have lived at Rome, presumably acquiring the cognomen from some association with the Oppian Hill; but their use of the praenomen Statius suggests that they were natives of Samnium. Pollio, borne by the consul of AD 90, was a common surname of Latin origin, and originally indicated a polisher.Chase, p. 111.
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It was first published in 1965, with a new edition in 1995. Volume II contains, broadly speaking, the inscriptions found on instrumentum domesticum (domestic utensils). Volume III (edited by R.S.O. Tomlin, R.P. Wright, and M.W.C. Hassall) is a continuation of Volume I, containing all the lapidary inscriptions found from the closing date of Volume I up to 31 December 2006. There are also indexes published to the volumes allowing the scholar quickly to reference nomina and cognomina, military units, imperial titles, duro por el c u l ond consuls, deities and so forth.
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In this early period, the number of personal names must have been quite large; but with the development of additional names the number in widespread use dwindled. By the early Republic, about three dozen Latin praenomina remained in use, some of which were already rare; about eighteen were used by the patricians.Harper's Dictionary of Classical Literature and Antiquities, Second Edition, Harry Thurston Peck, Editor (1897), "Nomen." Barely a dozen praenomina remained in general use under the Empire, although aristocratic families sometimes revived older praenomina, or created new ones from cognomina.
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An agnomen (; plural: agnomina), in the Roman naming convention, was a nickname, just as the cognomen was initially. However, the cognomina eventually became family names, so agnomina were needed to distinguish between similarly named persons. However, as the agnomen was an additional and optional component in a Roman name, not all Romans had an agnomen (at least not one that is recorded). Pseudo-Probus uses the hero of the Punic Wars, Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus, as an example: Marius Victorinus further elucidates: Africanus, Creticus and the likes are also known as victory titles.
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The great majority of nomina ending in -anius were derived from place-names or cognomina ending in -anus. Such gentilicia were frequently, although not exclusively, of Umbrian origin. There is also an old Latin cognomen of frequent occurrence, Pedo, referring to someone with broad feet, which could have given rise to a similar nomen, although in this case Pedonius would be the expected form. However, Pedonius is not attested, nor are there clear examples of a surname Pedanus, so Pedo as the root of Pedanius remains a strong possibility.
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At first, the statue was probably housed within the temple to Fortuna Virilis. This cult, older than that to Venus Verticordia but possibly perceived as weak or gone to seed, may have benefited from the moral and religious support of Venus as a relatively new but senior deity; for Ovid, Venus's acceptance of the epithet and its responsibilities represented the goddess's own change of heart. In 114 BC Venus Verticordia was given her own temple.Carter, Jesse Benedict, "The Cognomina of the Goddess 'Fortuna,'" Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association, Vol.
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The Sosii of the Republic bore no cognomina, and were not divided into distinct families. In the second century, however, a family bearing the name of Sosius Falco appears, descended from a daughter of Quintus Sosius Senecio, consul in AD 99 and 107, who married Quintus Pompeius Falco, consul in 109. Senecio, the original surname, was derived from senex, an old man, while Falco, a falcon, was inherited from the Pompeii; it frequently denoted someone whose feet resembled talons; the modern expression is "pigeon-toed".New College Latin & English Dictionary, s. v.
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The filiations of other early Lentuli suggest that their ancestors used the name Gnaeus, suggesting that they could have been descendants of the Cornelii Cossi. The Lentuli used a number of additional surnames, including Caudinus, apparently referring to the Battle of the Caudine Forks, crus, a leg, or the shin, Gaetulicus, bestowed upon the conqueror of the Gaetuli, Lupus, a wolf, Niger, black, Spinther, a bracelet, and Sura, the calf. The Lentuli also revived several old cognomina that had belonged to other stirpes of the Cornelii: Maluginensis, Cossus, Rufinus, and Scipio.
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In the next generation two Vipstani are known, with the cognomina "Messalla" and "Poplicola". This led Ronald Syme to observe that either Lucius or Marcus married a daughter of Marcus Valerius Messalla Messallinus and Claudia Marcella Minor, who is named (for convenience) Valeria Messallia.In Table IX of The Augustan Aristocracy, Syme indicates Lucius Vipstanus Gallus as the husband of Valeria Messallia, but notes the relationship is "conjectural". This alliance with the gens Valeria led to the prominence of the family during the first centuries of the Roman Empire.
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For example Alfred the Great. (This is more similar to the Roman use of agnomen than their use of cognomen.) Catalan cognom and Italian cognome, derived from the Latin cognomen, mean "family name". Maltese kunjom is derived from the Italian version, retaining the same meaning. The term "cognomen" can also be applied to cultures with a clan structure and naming conventions comparable to those of Ancient Rome; thus, hereditary "cognomina" have been described as in use among the Xhosa (Iziduko), the Igbo (Aha Otutu), the Yoruba (Oriki), or the Zulu (Isibongo).
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During the time of the Republic, we meet with only two branches of this gens, the Ahenobarbi and Calvini, and with the exception of a few unknown personages mentioned in isolated passages of Cicero, there is none without a cognomen. Calvinus, the name of the oldest family of the Domitii, is derived from the Latin adjective calvus, meaning "bald." The lengthened form, Calvinus is a diminutive, generally translated as "baldish", although it could also refer to the descendants of someone who had borne the surname Calvus. Such names belong to a common class of cognomina derived from a person's physical features.
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Originally Roman women shared the binomial nomenclature of men; but over time the praenomen became less useful as a distinguishing element, and women's praenomina were gradually discarded, or replaced by informal names. By the end of the Republic, the majority of Roman women either did not have or did not use praenomina. Most women were called by their nomen alone, or by a combination of nomen and cognomen. Praenomina could still be given when necessary, and as with men's praenomina the practice survived well into imperial times, but the proliferation of personal cognomina eventually rendered women's praenomina obsolete.
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The Rufii used a variety of personal cognomina, which was typical of Roman nomenclature in imperial times. The only distinct family name seems to have been Festus, joyous or festive, which appears among the Rufii for several centuries.New College Latin & English Dictionary, s. v. festus. The nomen Caeionius, apparently a variation of Ceionius, suggests that some of the Rufii were probably descended from the Ceionii, and acquired the nomen Rufius through a female line, although this is uncertain given the variability of Roman nomenclature under the Empire, in which nomina could be rearranged for political reasons, to emphasize family connections.
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The only distinct family of the Velii bore the cognomen Rufus, "red", one of a large class of surnames deriving from a person's physical appearance. This cognomen would probably have been given to an ancestor of the Velii who had red hair.Chase, p. 110. The other cognomina borne by the Velii appear to have been personal surnames, including Celer, swift, Fidus, faithful, and Longus, tall, alluding to the traits or characteristics of an individual, while Senex refers to an old man, and Cerealis, a devotee of Ceres, the goddess of the harvest, or to the grain with which she was associated.
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The Mussidii appear to be of Paelignian origin, and may have been natives of Sulmo, which besides Rome is the only location in Italy where the name is found.Wiseman, "Some Republican Senators and Their Tribes", p. 127. The nomen Mussidius belongs to a large class of gentilicia formed using the suffix '. Most of these names were originally derived from cognomina ending in ', but such names were so numerous that ' must have come to be regarded as a regular gentile- forming suffix, and was used to form nomina from names or words other than those ending in '.
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The Aemilii regularly used the praenomina Lucius, Manius, Marcus, and Quintus, and occasionally Mamercus. The Aemilii Mamercini also used Tiberius and Gaius, while the Aemilii Lepidi, who had a particular fondness for old and unusual names, used Paullus, presumably with reference to the family of the Aemilii Paulli, which had died out nearly a century earlier. An obscure family of uncertain date seems to have used Caeso. The daughters of the Aemilii are known to have used the numerical praenomina Prima, Secunda, and Tertia, although these were frequently treated as cognomina, and placed at the end of the name.
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The nomen Sibidienus belongs to a class of names ending in -enus, typically derived from other gentilicia, or sometimes from cognomina. Sibidienus would seem to be derived from Sabidius, or perhaps from its derivative, Sabidianus. Gentilicia of this type were common in Umbria and Picenum, and in fact most of the Sibidieni known from inscriptions seem to have lived at or near Tuficum in Umbria, from which it appears that the Sibidieni may have been of Umbrian origin, although the surname Sabinus borne by some of the family suggest that they may have been Sabines.Chase, p. 118.
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Although Papus bears the gentilicum and cognomina of a distinguished Republican stirps, the Aemilii Papi, his connection is obscure;Anthony Birley, The Fasti of Roman Britain (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1981), p. 243 the previous attested member of the Republican family lived in the early third century BC. For the other elements in his name, "Messius Rusticus" is shared with his father, and presumably came as part of a legacy to his father from the consul of 114, Marcus Messius Rusticus; "Cutius Priscus" comes from his mother's family. However the origins of other elements in his name, "Arrius Proculus" and "Julius Celsus" are unknown. Details about his immediate family are more definite.
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As they only seem to have become incorporated into the Roman state toward the end of the Republic, the Seppii are not known to have been divided into separate branches. Although many early Seppii bore no cognomen, the family used a wide range of familiar surnames in imperial times. The most abundant of these seems to have been Rufus, referring to the colour red, and usually bestowed upon someone with red hair. This was typical of a large class of cognomina derived from a person's physical features, which often became hereditary over time, although it is not known whether the Seppii Rufi of Abellinum and Venusia constituted a distinct family.
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The only surname associated with the patrician Marcii was Coriolanus, which does not seem to have represented a distinct family of the Marcian gens. During the time of the Republic, the plebeian Marcii bore the cognomina Censorinus, Crispus, Figulus, Libo, Philippus, Ralla, Rex, Rufus, Rutilus, Septimus, Sermo, and Tremulus. Those of Censorinus, Libo, and Philippus are found on coins. Coriolanus, the earliest cognomen of the Marcii, and the only one generally believed to have belonged to any of the patrician Marcii, was the personal surname of Gaius Marcius, a young soldier whose brilliant charge through the gates of Corioli resulted in the capture of that town from the Volscians.
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The cognomina of this gens under the Republic are Bassus, Denter, Cornutus, Metellus, Niger, Pinna, and Rufus, of which the Metelli are the best known. From the consulship of Lucius Caecilius Metellus Denter, the family of the Metelli became one of the most distinguished at Rome. In the latter half of the second century BC, it obtained an extraordinary number of the highest offices of the state. Quintus Metellus, who was consul in 143 BC, had four sons, who were raised to the consulship in succession; and his brother, Lucius Metellus, who was consul in 142, had two sons, who were likewise elevated to the same dignity.
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For a variety of reasons, the Roman nomenclature system broke down in the centuries following the collapse of imperial authority in the west. The praenomen had already become scarce in written sources during the fourth century, and by the fifth century it was retained only by the most conservative elements of the old Roman aristocracy, such as the Aurelii Symmachi. Over the course of the sixth century, as Roman institutions and social structures gradually fell away, the need to distinguish between nomina and cognomina likewise vanished. By the end of the seventh century, the people of Italy and western Europe had reverted to single names.
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In the same way, Sextius, Publilius, and Lucilius arose from the praenomina Sextus, Publius, and Lucius. This demonstrates that, much like later European surnames, the earliest nomina were not necessarily hereditary, but might be adopted and discarded at will, and changed from one generation to the next. The practice from which these patronymics arose also gave rise to the filiation, which in later times, once the nomen had become fixed, nearly always followed the nomen. Other nomina were derived from names that later came to be regarded as cognomina, such as Plancius from Plancus or Flavius from Flavus; or from place-names, such as Norbanus from Norba.
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In subsequent generations, all reigning emperors assumed Imperator as an additional praenomen (usually without foregoing their original praenomina), and Augustus as a cognomen. Caesar came to be used as a cognomen designating an heir apparent; and for the first two centuries of the empire, most emperors were adopted by their predecessors. The result was that each emperor bore a series of names that had more to do with the previous emperor than the names with which he had been born. They added new cognomina as they fought and conquered enemies and new lands, and their filiations recorded their descent from a series of gods.
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On the southern facade of the house, he is identified as an Augustalis, a type of priest, which is mirrored in fragments of a seal ring that was abbreviated with 'Aug' following his name. Scholars, however, have noted that it cannot be stated with certainty that the Vettii are the owners, despite most believing that they were, due to the limited epigraphical (engraved) evidence. The Vetti family is believed to have been freedman of the aristocratic family. This belief is rooted in the cognomina, or third given name, Conviva and Restitutus being associated with servitude as well as the richness of the decorations in the House of the Vettii.
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Victory titles were suffixed to the commander's name and were usually the name of the enemy defeated by the commander. Some victory titles became hereditary cognomina, while others were personal agnomina and not carried on by later family members. Names like Africanus ("the African"), Numidicus ("the Numidian"), Isauricus ("the Isaurian"), Creticus ("the Cretan"), Gothicus ("the Goth"), Germanicus ("the German") and Parthicus ("the Parthian") expressed the triumphal subjugation of these peoples or their territories, or commemorated the locations of general's successful campaigns, equivalent to modern titles like Lawrence of Arabia, and were not indicators of origin. The practice of awarding victory titles was established in the Roman Republic.
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Aulus, Gnaeus, Spurius, Sextus, and Servius were less common, followed by Manius, Tiberius, Caeso, Numerius, and Decimus, which were decidedly uncommon (at least amongst the patricians) during the Republic. Throughout Republican times, the number of praenomina in general use declined, but older names were occasionally revived by noble families, and occasionally anomalous names such as Ancus, Iulus, or Kanus were given. Some of these may have been ancient praenomina that had already passed out of common use by the early Republic. As they vanished from use as personal names, many older praenomina, such as Agrippa, Faustus, Mamercus, Paullus, Postumus, Proculus, and Vopiscus were revived as cognomina.
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The Latin name Vivianus is recorded from the 1st century.Bruce W. Frier, Thomas A. J. McGinn, Thomas A. McGinn, A Casebook on Roman Family Law, Oxford University Press, 2004, p. 477. It is ultimately related to the adjective vivus "alive", but it is formed from the compound form vivi-compare vivi-parus "viviparous", vivi-fico "vivify"; also vividus "vivid". and the adjectival suffix used to form cognomina. The latinate given name Vivianus was of limited popularity in the medieval period in reference to Saint Vivianus, a 5th-century bishop of Saintes; the feminine name was that of Saint Viviana (Bibiana), a 4th-century martyr whose veneration in Rome is ascertained for the 5th century.
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His ancestors had borne the same name for at least four generations. Although the Octavii were an old and distinguished plebeian family, the gens was not divided into stirpes and had no hereditary cognomina; Octavius' father had put down a slave revolt at Thurii and was sometimes given the surname Thurinus (a cognomen ex virtute), but this name was not passed down to the son. At the age of eighteen in 44 BC, Octavius was nominated magister equitum by his granduncle, Gaius Julius Caesar, who held the office of dictator. On the Ides of March, Caesar was assassinated, without legitimate children; but in his will he adopted his nephew, who then became , "Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus, son of Gaius".
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Sabinus is an ancient Roman cognomen originally meaning "Sabine"; that is, it indicated origin among the Sabines, an ancient people of Latium. It was used by a branch of the gens Flavia, of the gens Calvisia, and several others, and is by far the most common of the cognomina indicating ethnic origin that were in use during the Republican and Augustan eras. Sabine heritage carried a positive stereotype of traditional values and trustworthiness, and since the cognomen may have been appropriated by some politicians for its aura of uprightness, it should not always be taken as a mark of authentic Sabine origin.Gary D. Farney, Ethnic Identity and Aristocratic Competition in Republican Rome (Cambridge University Press, 2007), pp. 90ff. online.
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The only distinct family of the Sibidieni lived at Tuficum in Umbria, but they do not appear to have been divided into separate branches. Sabinus, the only surname known to have been passed down among the Sibidieni, belongs to a class of cognomina typically indicating the place of origin of an individual or family, and suggests that the Sabidieni either were, or claimed descent from the Sabines. Maximus, borne by one or two of the family, was typically given to an eldest son, or bestowed on someone who had earned great honor or distinction. Scaeva, borne by an ancestor of the Sabini, originally designated someone who was left-handed, but could also refer to someone particularly lucky, or unlucky.
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As the Bellii are not mentioned by ancient writers, there are no traditions relating to the origin of this gens, and the nomen is not listed among the gentilicia for which Chase was able to ascribe a particular origin; it resembles other gentiles formed using the suffixes , -ellius, and -illius, frequently derived from cognomina ending in -ulus, but sometimes from words ending in -illus or -ellus.Chase, pp. 122–124. The root was probably bellus, handsome or beautiful, but the use of surnames such as Clemens and Pacatus by some members of this gens suggests that the name was associated with bellum, war. The nomen Duilius or Duellius was derived from an older form of bellum, and so might be a cognate of Bellius.
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The origin of this binomial system is lost in prehistory, but it appears to have been established in Latium and Etruria by at least 650 BC. In written form, the nomen was usually followed by a filiation, indicating the personal name of an individual's father, and sometimes the name of the mother or other antecedents. Toward the end of the Roman Republic, this was followed by the name of a citizen's voting tribe. Lastly, these elements could be followed by additional surnames, or cognomina, which could be either personal or hereditary, or a combination of both. The Roman grammarians came to regard the combination of praenomen, nomen, and cognomen as a defining characteristic of Roman citizenship, known as the tria nomina.
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The future emperor Severus Alexander was born on 1 October 208 in Arca Caesarea, Phoenicia. Of his birth name, only two cognomina are known, from literary sources: Bassianus () according to the historian Cassius Dio, and Alexianus () according to Herodian. It seems likely that Bassianus was his family name, since several of his relatives were also called as such, and Alexianus his actual given name, which was later converted to Alexander. The historian Cassius Dio thought Alexianus was the son of Marcus Julius Gessius Marcianus, but Icks disputes this, saying the latter could not have married the emperor's mother before 212 and that Alexianus must've been fathered by his mother's first husband, who is of unknown name but of certain existence.
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The main family of the Veturii bore the cognomen Cicurinus, which the antiquarian Varro derived from cicur, quiet or patient. The Veturii who occur in the fasti from the outset of the Republic to the middle of the fifth century BC bore the additional surname of Geminus, a twin. From the time of the Decemvirs, this surname was replaced by Crassus, thick, sometimes with the implication of "dull" or "stupid". The Veturii Cicurini flourished down to the middle of the fourth century BC. Calvinus, bald or balding, occurs in the latter part of the fourth century BC, after which the Veturii fell into obscurity until the Second Punic War, when the surname Philo, one of the earliest cognomina borrowed from Greek, briefly appears.
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In the later empire, members of the Roman aristocracy used several different schemes of assuming and inheriting nomina and cognomina, both to signify their rank, and to indicate their family and social connections. Some Romans came to be known by alternative names, or signia, and due to the lack of surviving epigraphic evidence, the full nomenclature of most Romans, even among the aristocracy, is seldom recorded. Thus, although the three types of names referred to as the tria nomina existed throughout Roman history, the period during which the majority of citizens possessed exactly three names was relatively brief. Nevertheless, because most of the important individuals during the best-recorded periods of Roman history possessed all three names, the tria nomina remains the most familiar conception of the Roman name.
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The cognomen ex virtute was a surname derived from some virtuous or heroic episode attributed to the bearer. Roman history is filled with individuals who obtained cognomina as a result of their exploits: Aulus Postumius Albus Regillensis, who commanded the Roman army at the Battle of Lake Regillus; Gaius Marcius Coriolanus, who captured the city of Corioli; Marcus Valerius Corvus, who defeated a giant Gaul in single combat, aided by a raven; Titus Manlius Torquatus, who likewise defeated a Gaulish giant, and took his name from the torque that he claimed as a prize; Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus, who carried the Second Punic War to Africa, and defeated Hannibal. Interestingly, the most famous examples of this class of cognomen come from the period of the Republic, centuries before the concept of the agnomen was formulated.
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The Safinii of imperial times used a wide variety of personal cognomina, but a number of this gens bore the surname Rufus, or its diminutive, Rufinus, originally given to someone with red hair. At least some of these probably constituted a distinct family of the Safinii. Other surnames that might have represented stirpes of the Safinii include Sabellio, belonging to a class of surnames derived from the names of peoples and places, undoubtedly alluding to the Sabellic origin of the gens, and the meaning of its nomen gentilicium; and perhaps Primus, together with its diminutive, Primilla, a name usually signifying the eldest son in a family, although this name might have belonged to otherwise unrelated Safinii, as at least some bearing this name appear to have been freedmen.Chase, pp.
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Victory titles were treated as Latin cognomina and were usually the name of the enemy defeated by the commander. Hence, names like Africanus ("the African"), Numidicus ("the Numidian"), Isauricus ("the Isaurian"), Creticus ("the Cretan"), Gothicus ("the Goth"), Germanicus ("the German") and Parthicus ("the Parthian"), seemingly out of place for ardently patriotic Romans, are in fact expressions of Roman superiority over these peoples. The most famous grantee of Republican victory title was Publius Cornelius Scipio, who for his great victories in the Second Punic War was awarded by the Roman Senate the title "Africanus" and is thus known to history as "Scipio Africanus". The practice continued in the Roman Empire, although it was subsequently amended by some Roman Emperors who desired to emphasise the totality of their victories by adding Maximus ("the Greatest") to the victory title (e.g.
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Citizens did not normally change tribes when they moved from one region to another; but the censors had the power to punish a citizen by expelling him from one of the rural tribes and assigning him to one of the urban tribes. In later periods, most citizens were enrolled in tribes without respect to geography. Precisely when it became common to include the name of a citizen's tribus as part of his full nomenclature is uncertain. The name of the tribe normally follows the filiation and precedes any cognomina, suggesting that it occurred before the cognomen was recognized as a formal part of the Roman name; so probably no later than the second century BC. However, in both writing and inscriptions, the tribus is found with much less frequency than other parts of the name; so the custom of including it does not seem to have been deeply ingrained in Roman practice.
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The first of the Cornelii to appear in history bore the surname Maluginensis. This family seems to have divided into two stirpes in the 430s, the senior line retaining Maluginensis, while the younger branches assumed Cossus. From their filiations, the first of the Cornelii Cossi would seem to have been younger sons of Marcus Cornelius Maluginensis, a member of the Second Decemvirate in 450 BC. Both families produced a number of consuls and consular tribunes during the fourth and fifth centuries BC. The Maluginenses disappeared before the period of the Samnite Wars, although the Cornelii Scipiones appear to have been descended from this family, while the surname Cossus appears as late as the beginning of the third century; members of the latter family also bore the cognomina Rutilus, "reddish", and Arvina. Cossus itself seems to belong to a class of surnames derived from objects or animals, referring to the larva of certain beetles that burrow under the bark of trees.
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However, although all three elements of the Roman name existed throughout most of Roman history, the concept of the tria nomina can be misleading, because not all of these names were required or used throughout the whole of Roman history. During the period of the Roman Republic, the praenomen and nomen represented the essential elements of the name; the cognomen first appeared among the Roman aristocracy at the inception of the Republic, but was not widely used among the plebeians, who made up the majority of the Roman people, until the second century BC. Even then, not all Roman citizens bore cognomina, and until the end of the Republic the cognomen was regarded as somewhat less than an official name. By contrast, in imperial times the cognomen became the principal distinguishing element of the Roman name, and although praenomina never completely vanished, the essential elements of the Roman name from the second century onward were the nomen and cognomen. Naming conventions for women also varied from the classical concept of the tria nomina.
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Even after the development of the nomen and cognomen, filiation remained a useful means of distinguishing between members of a large family. "Dedicated by the emperor Caesar, son of the divine Marcus Antoninus Pius, brother of the divine Commodus, grandson of the divine Antoninus Pius, great-grandson of the divine Hadrian, great-great-grandson of the divine Trajan, conqueror of Parthia, great-great-great-grandson of the divine Nerva, Lucius Septimius Severus Pius Pertinax Augustus Arabicus Adiabenicus, father of his country, Pontifex Maximus, holding the tribunician power for the fourth year, in the eighth year of his imperium, consul for the second time; and Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Caesar" Filiations were normally written between the nomen and any cognomina, and abbreviated using the typical abbreviations for praenomina, followed by for filius or filia, and sometimes for nepos (grandson) or neptis (granddaughter). Thus, the inscription means "Spurius Postumius Albus Regillensis, of Aulus the son, of Publius the grandson". "Tiberius Aemilius Mamercinus, the son of Lucius and grandson of Mamercus" would be written .
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Its interpretation, and in particular the exact sense of numen has been discussed extensively in the literature. The supposition that a numinous presence in the natural world supposed in the earliest layers of Italic religion, as it were an "animistic" element left over in historical Roman religion and especially in the etymology of Latin theonyms, has often been popularly implied, but was criticised as "mostly a scholarly fiction" by McGeough (2004).Kevin McGeough The Romans: new perspectives 2004:179 "Numinous Forces and Other scholarly Inventions"; "Scholars may have to content themselves with nodes of meanings for the Italic gods rather than hard-and- fast definitions," observes Charles Robert Phillips III, in "A Note on Vergil's Aeneid 5, 744," Hermes 104.2 (1976:247–249) p. 248, with recent bibliography; Gerhard Radke's classification of the forms and significances of these multifarious names in Die Götter Altitaliens (Münster, 1965) was criticized as "unwarranted precision" in the review by A. Drummond in The Classical Review, New Series, 21.2 (June 1971:239–241); the coupling and uncoupling of Latin and Italic cognomina of the gods, creating the appearance of a multitude of deities, were classically dissected in Jesse Benedictus Carter, De Deorum Romanorum Cognominibus: Quaestiones Selectae (Leipzig, 1898).
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