Quintus () 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 b ...

, 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 know ...

, which was common throughout all periods of Roman history. It was used by both patrician and plebeian families, and gave rise to the patronymic gentes Quinctia and Quinctilia. The feminine form is ''Quinta''. The name was regularly abbreviated Q.''Dictionary of Greek & Roman Biography & Mythology'' Throughout Roman history, Quintus was one of the most common praenomina, generally occupying fourth or fifth place, behind '' Lucius'', ''

Gaius Gaius, sometimes spelled ''Gajus'', Kaius, Cajus, Caius, was a common Latin praenomen; see Gaius (praenomen). People *Gaius (jurist) (), Roman jurist *Gaius Acilius *Gaius Antonius *Gaius Antonius Hybrida *Gaius Asinius Gallus *Gaius Asinius Pol ...

'', and ''

Marcus Marcus, Markus, Márkus or Mărcuș may refer to: * Marcus (name), a masculine given name * Marcus (praenomen), a Roman personal name Places * Marcus, a main belt asteroid, also known as (369088) Marcus 2008 GG44 * Mărcuş, a village in Dobârl� ...

'', and occurring about as frequently as '' Publius''. Although many families did not use the name at all, it was particularly favored by others. The name continued to be used after the collapse of Roman civil institutions in the fifth and sixth centuries, and has survived to the present day.''Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft''

Origin and meaning

Quintus is the Latin word for "fifth", and it falls into a class of similar praenomina including the masculine names '' Sextus, Septimus, Octavius,

Nonus Nonus () is a Latin ''praenomen'', or personal name. It was never particularly common at Rome, but may have been used more frequently in the countryside. Although not attested in surviving Latin inscriptions, the name must have been used occasiona ...

'', and '' Decimus'', as well as the feminine names ''Prima, Secunda, Tertia, Quarta, Sexta, Septima, Octavia, Nona'', and ''Decima''. It is generally believed that the name was originally given to a fifth child, a fifth son, or a fifth daughter. However, it has also been argued that Quintus and the other praenomina of this type could refer to the month of the year in which a child was born. It may be that such names were given for both reasons.George Davis Chase, "The Origin of Roman Praenomina", in ''Harvard Studies in Classical Philology'', vol. VIII (1897)''Oxford Classical Dictionary'', 3rd Ed. (1996) Whatever the original reason that the name was given, parents were free to use it for any reason of their choosing. The primary consideration seems to have been the desire to pass on family names. Thus, the first son in a family was almost as likely as the fifth to be named Quintus. The

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 ...

cognate of Quintus was ''Pompo'', a name best known from the father of Numa Pompilius, the second king of Rome. The gentes Pompilia and Pomponia (both of which claimed descent from Numa Pompilius) were derived from this praenomen. The nomen Pompeius may also be a patronymic based on the name Pompo.

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{{Praenomina Ancient Roman praenomina

Origin and meaning

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