Agnomen

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. For example, Gaius Marcius Coriolanus earned his from the capture of Corioli.

Etymology

Latin ''agnōmen'' (also spelled ) comes from ''ad'' "to" and ''nōmen'' "name".

Caligula

As a minimum, a Roman ''agnomen'' is a name attached to an individual's full titulature after birth and formal naming by the family. True Roman nicknames, fully replacing the individual's name in usage, are rare. One such example where the nickname fully replaced the individual's name in usage was the Emperor Caligula, where that name was used in place of, and not along with, his full name, which was Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus. Caligula's ''praenomen'' was Gaius, his ''nomen'' Julius, his ''cognomen'' Caesar. Some ''agnomina'' were inherited like ''cognomen'' were, thus establishing a sub-family. Caligula's ''agnomen'' came from the little boots he wore as part of his miniature soldier's uniform while accompanying his father Germanicus on campaigns in northern Germania. In turn, Germanicus received his agnomen in 9 BC, when it was posthumously awarded to his father Nero Claudius Drusus in honour of his Germanic victories. At birth, Germanicus had been known as either Nero Claudius Drusus after his father or Tiberius Claudius Nero after his uncle. As with Caligula, Germanicus is mostly referred to by his agnomen.

Agnomens and pseudonyms

An ''agnomen'' is not a pseudonym, but a real name; agnomina are to, not for, an individual's full name. Parallel examples of ''agnomina'' from later times are epithets like Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson (though he is known more often by his agnomen than his first name) or popular nicknames like "Iron" Mike Tyson or Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

See also

*List of Imperial Roman victory titles
*Nomen (Roman name)
*Praenomen
*Nomen nescio
*Courtesy name

References

{{Personal names

Roman naming conventions