:''This page is about the Latin praenomen. For the 3rd-century usurper, see

Proculus Proculus (died c. 281) was a Roman usurper, one of the "minor pretenders" according to ''Historia Augusta'', who would have taken the purple against Emperor Probus in 280. This is now disputed. Probably Proculus had family connection with the Fr ...

. For any of several saints named Proculus, see Saint Proculus (disambiguation).'' Proculus 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 bir ...

, 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 kno ...

, which was most common during the early centuries 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 ...

. It gave rise to the patronymic gentes Proculeia and Procilia, and later became a common

cognomen A ''cognomen'' (; 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 here ...

, or

surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

. The feminine form is ''Procula''. The name was not regularly abbreviated.

Use

''Proculus'' was an uncommon name, but was occasionally used by both patrician and plebeian families. Those known to have used it included the Betutii, Geganii,

Julii The gens Julia (''gēns Iūlia'', ) was one of the most prominent patrician families in ancient Rome. Members of the gens attained the highest dignities of the state in the earliest times of the Republic. The first of the family to obtain t ...

, Sertorii, and Verginii; and naturally Proculus must once have been used by the ancestors of the gentes Proculeia and Procilia. Other families which later used the name as a cognomen may originally have used it as a praenomen. The scholar

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 ...

described ''Proculus'' as an archaic praenomen, which was no longer in general use by the first century BC. As a cognomen, however, ''Proculus'' was still common, and it became even more so during imperial times.

Origin and meaning

According to Festus, the name ''Proculus'' was originally given to children who were born while their fathers were away. This explanation is also found in Plutarch. Chase believes that this is a

false etymology A false etymology (fake etymology, popular etymology, etymythology, pseudo-etymology, or par(a)etymology) is a popular but false belief about the origin or derivation of a specific word. It is sometimes called a folk etymology, but this is also a ...

, and points out that the praenomen appears to be a diminutive of another word, such as ''procus''. The usual translation of this word is "suitor", but Festus also mentions that ''procus'' was an archaic form of ''procer'', a prince. Another possibility is that ''Proculus'' is a diminutive of ''Proca'', the name of one of the kings of

Alba Longa Alba Longa (occasionally written Albalonga in Italian sources) was an ancient Latin city in Central Italy, 12 miles (19 km) southeast of Rome, in the vicinity of Lake Albano in the Alban Hills. Founder and head of the Latin League, it wa ...

. In that case, ''Proca'' would also be an ancient praenomen. Of course, it is entirely possible that ''Proca'' is derived from the same root as ''procus'' and ''procer''. Titus Livius, ''

Ab Urbe Condita ''Ab urbe condita'' ( 'from the founding of the City'), or ''anno urbis conditae'' (; 'in the year since the city's founding'), abbreviated as AUC or AVC, expresses a date in years since 753 BC, the traditional founding of Rome. It is an ex ...

'', book I.

Notes

{{Praenomina Ancient Roman praenomina