Numerius ( , ) is a Latin praenomen, or personal name, usually abbreviated N. The name was never especially common, but was used 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 Ki ...

, and into imperial times. The feminine form is Numeria.Kajava, ''Roman Female Praenomina'', p. 49, 110 ''ff'', 119. The praenomen also gave rise to the patronymic gens Numeria.''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', vol. II, p. 1214 (" Numerius"). Although ''Numerius'' was occasionally used by patrician gentes, such as the

Furii The gens Furia, originally written Fusia, and sometimes found as Fouria on coins, was one of the most ancient and noble patrician houses at Rome. Its members held the highest offices of the state throughout the period of the Roman Republic. The ...

and the

Valerii The gens Valeria was a patrician family at ancient Rome, prominent from the very beginning of the Republic to the latest period of the Empire. Publius Valerius Poplicola was one of the consuls in 509 BC, the year that saw the overthrow of the ...

, the only patrician family to use the name regularly was the gens Fabia.

Festus Festus may refer to: People Ancient world *Porcius Festus, Roman governor of Judea from approximately 58 to 62 AD *Sextus Pompeius Festus (later 2nd century), Roman grammarian *Festus (died 305), martyr along with Proculus of Pozzuoli *Festus (h ...

relates the story of how ''Numerius'' was introduced to the family after a survivor of the

Battle of the Cremera A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

married a daughter of Numerius Otacilius of Maleventum.Chase, p. 138. The name was used more widely amongst the plebeians and in the countryside, and was relatively common in southern Italy. In

Roman law Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spanning over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables (c. 449 BC), to the '' Corpus Juris Civilis'' (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman emperor Ju ...

, the name ''

Numerius Negidius ''Numerius Negidius'' is a name used in Roman jurisprudence, based on a play on words: '' Numerius'' is a Roman praenomen, or forename, resembling the verb ''numero'', "I pay"; while ''Negidius'' has the form of a gentile name formed from the ver ...

'' was used to refer to a hypothetical defendant.

Origin and meaning

''Numerius'' was generally connected with Numeria, the goddess of childbirth, and according to

Varro Marcus Terentius Varro (; 116–27 BC) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome" (after Vergil and Cicero). He is sometimes calle ...

was given to children who were born quickly and easily. Elsewhere, Varro states that the feminine ''Numeria'' was not used as a praenomen, but this is contradicted by the ''Liber de Praenominibus'', a short treatise on praenomina usually appended to

Valerius Maximus Valerius Maximus () was a 1st-century Latin writer and author of a collection of historical anecdotes: ''Factorum ac dictorum memorabilium libri IX'' ("Nine books of memorable deeds and sayings", also known as ''De factis dictisque memorabilibus'' ...

. As a praenomen, ''Numeria'' is attested in the funerary inscription of Numeria Atilia at

Praeneste Palestrina (ancient ''Praeneste''; grc, Πραίνεστος, ''Prainestos'') is a modern Italian city and ''comune'' (municipality) with a population of about 22,000, in Lazio, about east of Rome. It is connected to the latter by the Via Pre ...

; other instances of the name in inscriptions probably represent gentilicia. Based in part on the story related by Festus, as well as various

Oscan Oscan is an extinct Indo-European language of southern Italy. The language is in the Osco-Umbrian or Sabellic branch of the Italic languages. Oscan is therefore a close relative of Umbrian. Oscan was spoken by a number of tribes, including ...

inscriptions and the popularity of the name in southern Italy, Chase describes ''Numerius'' as an

praenomen. However, the name was widely used in

Latium Latium ( , ; ) is the region of central western Italy in which the city of Rome was founded and grew to be the capital city of the Roman Empire. Definition Latium was originally a small triangle of fertile, volcanic soil ( Old Latium) on w ...

, and in the archaic form ''Numasios'' it is found in a number of

Old Latin Old Latin, also known as Early Latin or Archaic Latin (Classical la, prīsca Latīnitās, lit=ancient Latinity), was the Latin language in the period before 75 BC, i.e. before the age of Classical Latin. It descends from a common Proto-Italic ...

inscriptions, including the famous Praenestine fibula, and it may well be an example of a praenomen that was shared by both Oscan and Latin. Under the spelling ''Numesius'', it also appears in one of the earliest

Etruscan __NOTOC__ Etruscan may refer to: Ancient civilization *The Etruscan language, an extinct language in ancient Italy *Something derived from or related to the Etruscan civilization **Etruscan architecture **Etruscan art **Etruscan cities ** Etrusca ...

inscriptions, on a vase from

Tarquinii Tarquinia (), formerly Corneto, is an old city in the province of Viterbo, Lazio, Central Italy, known chiefly for its ancient Etruscan tombs in the widespread necropoleis, or cemeteries, for which it was awarded UNESCO World Heritage statu ...

dating to about 700 BC.Ogilvie & Drummond, ''Cambridge Ancient History'', vol. 7, part 2, p. 12 (fig. 1).

References

Bibliography

Marcus Terentius Varro Marcus Terentius Varro (; 116–27 BC) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome" (after Vergil and Cicero). He is sometimes calle ...

, ''De Lingua Latina'' (On the Latin Language), ''Fragmenta'' (Fragments). * ''Liber de Praenominibus'', a short treatise of uncertain authorship, traditionally appended to

' ''

Factorum ac Dictorum Memorabilium ''Factorum ac dictorum memorabilium libri IX'' ("nine books of memorable deeds and sayings", also known as ''De factis dictisque memorabilibus'' or ''Facta et dicta memorabilia'') by Valerius Maximus (c. 20 BC – c. AD 50) was written arou ...

'' (Memorable Facts and Sayings). *

Sextus Pompeius Festus Sextus Pompeius Festus, usually known simply as Festus, was a Roman grammarian who probably flourished in the later 2nd century AD, perhaps at Narbo (Narbonne) in Gaul. Work He made a 20-volume epitome of Verrius Flaccus's voluminous and encyclop ...

, ''Epitome de M. Verrio Flacco de Verborum Significatu'' (Epitome of

Marcus Verrius Flaccus Marcus Verrius Flaccus (c. 55 BCAD 20) was a Roman grammarian and teacher who flourished under Augustus and Tiberius. Life He was a freedman, and his manumitter has been identified with Verrius Flaccus, an authority on pontifical law; but for c ...

' ''On the Meaning of Words''). * ''

Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology The ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' (1849, originally published 1844 under a slightly different title) is an encyclopedia/biographical dictionary. Edited by William Smith, the dictionary spans three volumes and 3,700 ...

'', William Smith, ed., Little, Brown and Company, Boston (1849). *

Theodor Mommsen Christian Matthias Theodor Mommsen (; 30 November 1817 – 1 November 1903) was a German classical scholar, historian, jurist, journalist, politician and archaeologist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest classicists of the 19th centu ...

''et alii'', '' Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum'' (The Body of Latin Inscriptions, abbreviated ''CIL''), Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften (1853–present). * George Davis Chase, "The Origin of Roman Praenomina", in ''

Harvard Studies in Classical Philology ''Harvard Studies in Classical Philology'' (''HSCPh'') is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering topics in philology and classical studies, published annually. It was established in 1890 and is published by Harvard University Press Harv ...

'', vol. VIII, pp. 103–184 (1897). *

Robert Maxwell Ogilvie Robert Maxwell Ogilvie FRSE FSA FBA DLitt (5 June 1932 – 7 November 1981) was a British scholar of Latin literature and Classical language, classical philology. Life His parents were Sir Frederick Wolff Ogilvie (1893–1949), director-general ...

& Andrew Drummond, ''

The Cambridge Ancient History ''The Cambridge Ancient History'' is a multi-volume work of ancient history from Prehistory to Late Antiquity, published by Cambridge University Press. The first series, consisting of 12 volumes, was planned in 1919 by Irish historian J. B. Bur ...

'', vol. 7, part 2, Cambridge University Press (1989). * Mika Kajava, ''Roman Female Praenomina: Studies in the Nomenclature of Roman Women'', Acta Instituti Romani Finlandiae (1994). * O.F. Robinson, ''The Sources of Roman Law: Problems and Sources for Ancient Historians'', Routledge, London (1997). {{Praenomina Ancient Roman praenomina