Gnaeus ( , ) is a Latin ''

praenomen The ''praenomen'' (; plural: ''praenomina'') was a personal name chosen by the parents of a Roman child. It was first bestowed on the ''dies lustricus'' (day of lustration), the eighth day after the birth of a girl, or the ninth day after the bi ...

'', or

personal name A personal name, or full name, in onomastic terminology also known as prosoponym (from Ancient Greek πρόσωπον / ''prósōpon'' - person, and ὄνομα / ''onoma'' - name), is the set of names by which an individual person is known ...

, which was common throughout the period of the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kin ...

, and well into imperial times. The feminine form is ''Gnaea''. The praenomen was used by both patrician and plebeian families, and gave rise to the patronymic '' gens Naevia''. The name was regularly abbreviated Cn., based on the archaic spelling, ''Cnaeus'', dating from the period before the letters "C" and "G" were differentiated. For most of Roman history, Gnaeus was one of the ten most common praenomina, being less common than ''

Titus Titus Caesar Vespasianus ( ; 30 December 39 – 13 September 81 AD) was Roman emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death. Before becoming emperor, Titus gained renown as a mili ...

'', the sixth most common praenomen, and comparable in frequency to ''

Aulus Aulus (abbreviated A.) is one of the small group of common forenames found in the culture of ancient Rome. The name was traditionally connected with Latin ''aula'', ''olla'', "palace", but this is most likely a false etymology. ''Aulus'' in fact p ...

'', '' Spurius'', and ''

Sextus Sextus is an ancient Roman '' praenomen'' or "first name". Its standard abbreviation is Sex., and the feminine form would be Sexta. It is one of the numeral ''praenomina'', like Quintus ("fifth") and Decimus ("tenth"), and means "sixth". Althoug ...

''. Although the name was used by a minority of families at Rome, it was favored by a number of prominent ''gentes'', including the

Cornelii The gens Cornelia was one of the greatest patrician houses at ancient Rome. For more than seven hundred years, from the early decades of the Republic to the third century AD, the Cornelii produced more eminent statesmen and generals than any oth ...

Domitii The gens Domitia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. The first of the gens to achieve prominence was Gnaeus Domitius Calvinus, consul in 332 BC. His son, Gnaeus Domitius Calvinus Maximus, was consul in 283, and the first plebeian censor. Th ...

Manlii The gens Manlia () was one of the oldest and noblest patrician houses at Rome, from the earliest days of the Republic until imperial times. The first of the gens to obtain the consulship was Gnaeus Manlius Cincinnatus, consul in 480 BC, and fo ...

, and

Servilii The gens Servilia was a patrician family at ancient Rome. The gens was celebrated during the early ages of the Republic, and the names of few gentes appear more frequently at this period in the consular Fasti. It continued to produce men of influ ...

. The name gradually became less common in imperial times.

Origin and meaning

According to Festus, the praenomen Gnaeus originally referred to a birthmark, which was ''naevus'' in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

. This etymology is generally accepted by modern scholars. In his treatise on the origin of Roman praenomina, Chase cites the archaic spelling ''Gnaivos'' in support of this explanation. However, as with other praenomina, Gnaeus was generally chosen because it was a family name, not necessarily because the children who received it had a noteworthy birthmark. Gnaeus was one of a number of Latin praenomina borrowed by the

Etruscans The Etruscan civilization () was developed by a people of Etruria in ancient Italy with a common language and culture who formed a federation of city-states. After conquering adjacent lands, its territory covered, at its greatest extent, rou ...

, in whose language it became ''Cneve'' or ''Cneies''.''Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft''

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gnaeus (Praenomen) Ancient Roman praenomina