Over the course of some fourteen centuries, the
Romans
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
and other peoples of Italy employed a system of nomenclature that differed from that used by other cultures of Europe and the
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...
, consisting of a combination of
personal
Personal may refer to:
Aspects of persons' respective individualities
* Privacy
* Personality
* Personal, personal advertisement, variety of classified advertisement used to find romance or friendship
Companies
* Personal, Inc., a Washington, ...
and
family name
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 ...
s. Although conventionally referred to as the ''tria nomina'', the combination of
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 ...
,
nomen, and
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 ...
that have come to be regarded as the basic elements of the Roman name in fact represent a continuous process of development, from at least the seventh century BC to the end of the seventh century AD. The names that developed as part of this system became a defining characteristic of Roman civilization, and although the system itself vanished during the
Early Middle Ages
The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...
, the names themselves exerted a profound influence on the development of European naming practices, and many continue to survive in
modern languages
A modern language is any human language that is currently in use. The term is used in language education to distinguish between languages which are used for day-to-day communication (such as French and German) and dead classical languages such ...
.
Overview
The distinguishing feature of Roman nomenclature was the use of both
personal names
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, ...
and regular
surnames. Throughout Europe and the Mediterranean, other ancient civilizations distinguished individuals through the use of single personal names, usually
dithematic in nature. Consisting of two distinct elements, or "themes", these names allowed for hundreds or even thousands of possible combinations. But a markedly different system of nomenclature arose in Italy, where the personal name was joined by a hereditary surname. Over time, this
binomial
Binomial may refer to:
In mathematics
*Binomial (polynomial), a polynomial with two terms
* Binomial coefficient, numbers appearing in the expansions of powers of binomials
*Binomial QMF, a perfect-reconstruction orthogonal wavelet decomposition
...
system expanded to include additional names and designations.
['']Oxford Classical Dictionary
The ''Oxford Classical Dictionary'' (''OCD'') is generally considered "the best one-volume dictionary on antiquity," an encyclopædic work in English consisting of articles relating to classical antiquity and its civilizations. It was first pub ...
'', 2nd Ed. (1970), "Names, Personal."Benet Salway
Richard William Benet Salway is a senior lecturer in ancient history at University College London. His areas of speciality include Greek and Roman epigraphy and onomastics, Roman law, Roman Imperial history and travel and geography in the Graeco ...
, "What's in a Name? A Survey of Roman Onomastic Practice from c. 700 B.C. to A.D. 700", in ''Journal of Roman Studies
The Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies (The Roman Society) was founded in 1910 as the sister society to the Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies.
The Society is the leading organisation in the United Kingdom for those interest ...
'', vol. 84, pp. 124–145 (1994).
![Tomba Francois - Liberazione di Celio Vibenna](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ad/Tomba_Francois_-_Liberazione_di_Celio_Vibenna.jpg)
The most important of these names was the ''
nomen gentilicium
The (or simply ) was a hereditary name borne by the peoples of Roman Italy and later by the citizens of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. It was originally the name of one's (family or clan) by patrilineal descent. However, as Rome exp ...
'', or simply ''nomen'', a hereditary surname that identified a person as a member of a distinct
gens
In ancient Rome, a gens ( or , ; plural: ''gentes'' ) was a family consisting of individuals who shared the same Roman naming conventions#Nomen, nomen and who claimed descent from a common ancestor. A branch of a gens was called a ''stirps'' (p ...
. This was preceded by the
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 "forename", a personal name that served to distinguish between the different members of a family. For example, a Roman named ''Publius Lemonius'' might have sons named ''Publius'', ''Lucius'', and ''Gaius Lemonius''. Here, ''Lemonius'' is the ''nomen'', identifying each person in the family as a member of the gens Lemonia; ''Publius'', ''Lucius'', and ''Gaius'' are praenomina used to distinguish between them.
The origin of this binomial system is lost in prehistory, but it appears to have been established 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 whi ...
and
Etruria
Etruria () was a region of Central Italy, located in an area that covered part of what are now most of Tuscany, northern Lazio, and northern and western Umbria.
Etruscan Etruria
The ancient people of Etruria
are identified as Etruscan civiliza ...
by at least 650 BC.
In written form, the ''nomen'' was usually followed by a
filiation, indicating the personal name of an individual's father, and sometimes the name of the mother or other antecedents. Toward the end 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 ...
, this was followed by the name of a citizen's
voting tribe. Lastly, these elements could be followed by additional surnames, or
cognomina
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 ...
, which could be either personal or hereditary, or a combination of both.
The Roman grammarians came to regard the combination of praenomen, nomen, and cognomen as a defining characteristic of Roman citizenship, known as the ''tria nomina''. However, although all three elements of the Roman name existed throughout most of Roman history, the concept of the ''tria nomina'' can be misleading, because not all of these names were required or used throughout the whole of Roman history. During the period of the Roman Republic, the praenomen and nomen represented the essential elements of the name; the cognomen first appeared among the
Roman aristocracy
Social class in ancient Rome was hierarchical, with multiple and overlapping social hierarchies. An individual's relative position in one might be higher or lower than in another, which complicated the social composition of Rome.
The status of f ...
at the inception of the Republic, but was not widely used among the
plebeians
In ancient Rome, the plebeians (also called plebs) were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census, or in other words " commoners". Both classes were hereditary.
Etymology
The precise origins of ...
, who made up the majority of the Roman people, until the second century BC. Even then, not all Roman citizens bore cognomina, and until the end of the Republic the cognomen was regarded as somewhat less than an official name. By contrast, in imperial times the cognomen became the principal distinguishing element of the Roman name, and although praenomina never completely vanished, the essential elements of the Roman name from the second century onward were the nomen and cognomen.
Naming conventions for women also varied from the classical concept of the ''tria nomina''. Originally Roman women shared the binomial nomenclature of men; but over time the praenomen became less useful as a distinguishing element, and women's praenomina were gradually discarded, or replaced by informal names. By the end of the Republic, the majority of Roman women either did not have or did not use praenomina. Most women were called by their nomen alone, or by a combination of nomen and cognomen. Praenomina could still be given when necessary, and as with men's praenomina the practice survived well into imperial times, but the proliferation of personal cognomina eventually rendered women's praenomina obsolete.
In the later empire, members of the Roman aristocracy used several different schemes of assuming and inheriting nomina and cognomina, both to signify their rank, and to indicate their family and social connections. Some Romans came to be known by alternative names, or ''signia'', and due to the lack of surviving epigraphic evidence, the full nomenclature of most Romans, even among the aristocracy, is seldom recorded.
Thus, although the three types of names referred to as the ''tria nomina'' existed throughout Roman history, the period during which the majority of citizens possessed exactly three names was relatively brief. Nevertheless, because most of the important individuals during the best-recorded periods of Roman history possessed all three names, the ''tria nomina'' remains the most familiar conception of the Roman name.
For a variety of reasons, the Roman nomenclature system broke down in the centuries following the collapse of imperial authority in the west. The praenomen had already become scarce in written sources during the fourth century, and by the fifth century it was retained only by the most conservative elements of the old Roman aristocracy, such as the
Aurelii Symmachi The Aurelii Symmachi were an aristocratic senatorial family ''(gens)'' of the late Roman Empire.
The family received its first offices at the beginning of the 3rd century under emperor Septimius Severus. It further increased its prestige, reaching ...
. Over the course of the sixth century, as Roman institutions and social structures gradually fell away, the need to distinguish between nomina and cognomina likewise vanished. By the end of the seventh century, the people of Italy and western Europe had reverted to single names. But many of the names that had originated as part of the ''tria nomina'' were adapted to this usage, and survived into modern times.
Origin and development
![Mignard - The Shepherd Faustulus Bringing Romulus and Remus to His Wife](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Mignard_-_The_Shepherd_Faustulus_Bringing_Romulus_and_Remus_to_His_Wife.jpg)
As in other cultures, the early peoples of Italy probably used a single name, which later developed into the praenomen.
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 ...
wrote that the earliest Italians used simple names.
[Gaius Titius Probus, ''De Praenominibus'', epitome by Julius Paris.] Names of this type could be honorific or aspirational, or might refer to deities, physical peculiarities, or circumstances of birth.
In this early period, the number of personal names must have been quite large; but with the development of additional names the number in widespread use dwindled.
By the early Republic, about three dozen Latin praenomina remained in use, some of which were already rare; about eighteen were used by the
patricians
The patricians (from la, patricius, Greek: πατρίκιος) were originally a group of ruling class families in ancient Rome. The distinction was highly significant in the Roman Kingdom, and the early Republic, but its relevance waned after ...
.
['' Harper's Dictionary of Classical Literature and Antiquities'', Second Edition, ]Harry Thurston Peck
Harry Thurston Peck (November 24, 1856 – March 23, 1914) was an American classical scholar, author, editor, historian and critic.
Biography
Peck was born in Stamford, Connecticut. He was educated in private schools and at Columbia College, g ...
, Editor (1897), "Nomen." Barely a dozen praenomina remained in general use under the Empire, although aristocratic families sometimes revived older praenomina, or created new ones from cognomina.
The development of the nomen as the second element of the Italic name cannot be attributed to a specific period or culture. From the earliest period it was common to both the
Indo-European
The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the overwhelming majority of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and the northern Indian subcontinent. Some European languages of this family, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Dutc ...
speaking
Italic peoples
The Italic peoples were an ethnolinguistic group identified by their use of Italic languages, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
The Italic peoples are descended from the Indo-European speaking peoples who inhabited Italy from at lea ...
and 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 ...
. The historian
Livy
Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Ancient Rome, Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditiona ...
relates the adoption of ''Silvius'' as a nomen by the
kings of Alba Longa
The kings of Alba Longa, or Alban kings (Latin: ''reges Albani''), were a series of legendary kings of Latium, who ruled from the ancient city of Alba Longa. In the mythic tradition of ancient Rome, they fill the 400-year gap between the settlem ...
in honour of their ancestor,
Silvius.
Titus Livius
Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...
, ''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 exp ...
'' i. 3. As part of Rome's foundation myth, this statement cannot be regarded as historical fact, but it does indicate the antiquity of the period to which the Romans themselves ascribed the adoption of hereditary surnames.
In Latin, most nomina were formed by adding an adjectival suffix, usually ''-ius'', to the stem of an existing word or name. Frequently this required a joining element, such as ''-e-, -id-, -il-'', or ''-on-''. Many common nomina arose as
patronymic surnames; for instance, the nomen ''Marcius'' was derived from the praenomen ''Marcus'', and originally signified ''Marci filius'', "son of Marcus". In the same way, ''Sextius'', ''Publilius'', and ''Lucilius'' arose from the praenomina ''Sextus'', ''Publius'', and ''Lucius''.
This demonstrates that, much like later European surnames, the earliest nomina were not necessarily hereditary, but might be adopted and discarded at will, and changed from one generation to the next. The practice from which these patronymics arose also gave rise to the
filiation, which in later times, once the nomen had become fixed, nearly always followed the nomen. Other nomina were derived from names that later came to be regarded as cognomina, such as ''Plancius'' from ''Plancus'' or ''Flavius'' from ''Flavus''; or from place-names, such as ''Norbanus'' from ''
Norba
Norba, an ancient town of Latium (''Adjectum''), Italy. It is situated 1 mile northwest of the modern town of Norma, on the western edge of the Volscian Mountains or Monti Lepini. The town is perched above a precipitous cliff with a splendid v ...
''.
The binomial name consisting of ''praenomen'' and ''nomen'' eventually spread throughout Italy. Nomina from different languages and regions often have distinctive characteristics; Latin nomina tended to end in ''-ius, -us, -aius, -eius, -eus'', or ''-aeus'', while Oscan names frequently ended in ''-is'' or ''-iis''; Umbrian names in ''-as, -anas, -enas'', or ''-inas'', and Etruscan names in ''-arna, -erna, -ena, -enna, -ina'', or ''-inna''. Oscan and Umbrian forms tend to be found in inscriptions; in Roman literature these names are often Latinized.
Many individuals added an additional surname, or ''cognomen'', which helped to distinguish between members of larger families. Originally these were simply personal names, which might be derived from a person's physical features, personal qualities, occupation, place of origin, or even an object with which a person was associated. Some cognomina were derived from the circumstance of a person's adoption from one family into another, or were derived from foreign names, such as when a freedman received a Roman praenomen and nomen. Other cognomina commemorated important events associated with a person; a battle in which a man had fought (
Regillensis), a town captured (
Coriolanus
''Coriolanus'' ( or ) is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1605 and 1608. The play is based on the life of the legendary Roman leader Caius Marcius Coriolanus. Shakespeare worked on it during the same ye ...
); or a miraculous occurrence (
Corvus
''Corvus'' is a widely distributed genus of medium-sized to large birds in the family Corvidae. It includes species commonly known as crows, ravens and rooks. The species commonly encountered in Europe are the carrion crow, the hooded crow ...
). The late grammarians distinguished certain cognomina as ''
agnomina''.
Although originally a personal name, the cognomen frequently became hereditary, especially in large families, or ''
gentes'', in which they served to identify distinct branches, known as ''stirpes''. Some Romans had more than one cognomen, and in aristocratic families it was not unheard of for individuals to have as many as three, of which some might be hereditary and some personal. These surnames were initially characteristic of patrician families, but over time cognomina were also acquired by the
plebeians
In ancient Rome, the plebeians (also called plebs) were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census, or in other words " commoners". Both classes were hereditary.
Etymology
The precise origins of ...
. However, a number of distinguished plebeian gentes, such as the
Antonii
The gens Antonia was a Roman family of great antiquity, with both patrician and plebeian branches. The first of the gens to achieve prominence was Titus Antonius Merenda, one of the second group of Decemviri called, in 450 BC, to help draft wh ...
and the
Marii
The gens Maria was a plebeian family of Rome. Its most celebrated member was Gaius Marius, one of the greatest generals of antiquity, and seven times consul.''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', vol. I, p. 949 ("Maria Gens") ...
, were never divided into different branches, and in these families cognomina were the exception rather than the rule.
Cognomina are known from the beginning of the Republic, but were long regarded as informal names, and omitted from most official records before the second century BC. Later inscriptions commemorating the early centuries of the Republic supply these missing surnames, although the authenticity of some of them has been disputed. Under the Empire, however, the cognomen acquired great importance, and the number of cognomina assumed by the Roman aristocracy multiplied exponentially.
Adding to the complexity of aristocratic names was the practice of combining the full nomenclature of both one's paternal and maternal ancestors, resulting in some individuals appearing to have two or more complete names. Duplicative or politically undesirable names might be omitted, while the order of names might be rearranged to emphasize those giving the bearer the greatest prestige.
Following the promulgation of the ''
Constitutio Antoniniana
The ''Constitutio Antoniniana'' (Latin for: "Constitution r Edictof Antoninus") (also called the Edict of Caracalla or the Antonine Constitution) was an edict issued in AD 212, by the Roman Emperor Caracalla. It declared that all free men in t ...
'' in AD 212, granting Roman citizenship to all free men living within the Roman Empire, the praenomen and nomen lost much of their distinguishing function, as all of the newly enfranchised citizens shared the name of ''Marcus Aurelius''. The praenomen and sometimes the nomen gradually disappeared from view, crowded out by other names indicating the bearer's rank and social connections. Surviving inscriptions from the fifth century rarely provide a citizen's full nomenclature.
In the final centuries of the Empire, the traditional nomenclature was sometimes replaced by alternate names, known as ''signa''. In the course of the sixth century, as central authority collapsed and Roman institutions disappeared, the complex forms of Roman nomenclature were abandoned altogether, and the people of Italy and western Europe reverted to single names. Modern European nomenclature developed independently of the Roman model during the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
and the
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
. However, many modern names are derived from Roman originals.
''Tria nomina''
The three types of names that have come to be regarded as quintessentially Roman were the ''praenomen, nomen'', and ''cognomen''. Together, these were referred to as the ''tria nomina''. Although not all Romans possessed three names, the practice of using multiple names having different functions was a defining characteristic of Roman culture that distinguished citizens from foreigners.
Praenomen
![Peristyle](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/Peristyle.jpg)
The praenomen was a true
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 ...
, chosen by a child's parents, and bestowed on the ''dies lustricius'', or "day of
lustration", a
ritual purification
Ritual purification is the ritual prescribed by a religion by which a person is considered to be free of ''uncleanliness'', especially prior to the worship of a deity, and ritual purity is a state of ritual cleanliness. Ritual purification may ...
performed on the eighth day after the birth of a girl, or the ninth day after the birth of a boy. Normally all of the children in a family would have different praenomina. Although there was no law restricting the use of specific praenomina, the choice of the parents was usually governed by custom and family tradition. An eldest son was usually named after his father, and younger sons were named after their father's brothers or other male ancestors. In this way, the same praenomina were passed down in a family from one generation to the next. Not only did this serve to emphasize the continuity of a family across many generations, but the selection of praenomina also distinguished the customs of one gens from another. The patrician gentes in particular tended to limit the number of praenomina that they used far more than the plebeians, which was a way of reinforcing the exclusiveness of their social status.
Of course, there were many exceptions to these general practices. A son might be named in honour of one of his maternal relatives, thus bringing a new name into the gens. Because some gentes made regular use of only three or four praenomina, new names might appear whenever a family had more than three or four sons. Furthermore, a number of the oldest and most influential patrician families made a habit of choosing unusual names; in particular the
Fabii,
Aemilii
The gens Aemilia, originally written Aimilia, was one of the greatest patrician families at ancient Rome. The gens was of great antiquity, and claimed descent from Numa Pompilius, the second King of Rome. Its members held the highest offices o ...
,
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 ...
,
Claudii
The gens Claudia (), sometimes written Clodia, was one of the most prominent patrician houses at ancient Rome. The gens traced its origin to the earliest days of the Roman Republic. The first of the Claudii to obtain the consulship was Appius ...
,
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 ...
, and
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 ...
all used praenomina that were uncommon amongst the patricians, or which had fallen out of general use. In the last two centuries of the Republic, and under the early Empire, it was fashionable for aristocratic families to revive older praenomina.
About three dozen Latin praenomina were in use at the beginning of the Republic, although only about eighteen were common. This number fell gradually, until by the first century AD, about a dozen praenomina remained in widespread use, with a handful of others used by particular families.
The origin and use of praenomina was a matter of curiosity to the Romans themselves; in ''De Praenominibus'', Probus discusses a number of older praenomina and their meanings.
Most praenomina were regularly abbreviated, and rarely written in full.
Other praenomina were used by the Oscan, Umbrian, and Etruscan-speaking peoples of Italy, and many of these also had regular abbreviations. Lists of praenomina used by the various people of Italy, together with their usual abbreviations, can be found at
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 ...
.
Roman men were usually known by their praenomina to members of their family and household, ''
clientes'' and close friends; but outside of this circle, they might be called by their nomen, cognomen, or any combination of praenomen, nomen, and cognomen that was sufficient to distinguish them from other men with similar names.
In the literature of the Republic, and on all formal occasions, such as when a
senator was called upon to speak, it was customary to address a citizen by praenomen and nomen; or, if this were insufficient to distinguish him from other members of the gens, by praenomen and cognomen.
In imperial times, the praenomen became increasingly confused by the practices of the aristocracy. The
emperors
An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother (empr ...
usually prefixed ''Imperator'' to their names as a praenomen, while at the same time retaining their own praenomina; but because most of the early emperors were legally adopted by their predecessors, and formally assumed new names, even these were subject to change. Several members of the
Julio-Claudian dynasty exchanged their original praenomina for cognomina, or received cognomina in place of praenomina at birth. An emperor might emancipate or enfranchise large groups of people at once, all of whom would automatically receive the emperor's praenomen and nomen. Yet another common practice beginning in the first century AD was to give multiple sons the same praenomen, and distinguish them using different cognomina; by the second century this was becoming the rule, rather than the exception. Another confusing practice was the addition of the full nomenclature of maternal ancestors to the basic ''tria nomina'', so that a man might appear to have two praenomina, one occurring in the middle of his name.
Under the weight of these practices and others, the utility of the praenomen to distinguish between men continued to decline, until only the force of tradition prevented its utter abandonment. Over the course of the third century, praenomina become increasingly scarce in written records, and from the fourth century onward their appearance becomes exceptional. The descendants of those who had been granted citizenship by the ''
Constitutio Antoniniana
The ''Constitutio Antoniniana'' (Latin for: "Constitution r Edictof Antoninus") (also called the Edict of Caracalla or the Antonine Constitution) was an edict issued in AD 212, by the Roman Emperor Caracalla. It declared that all free men in t ...
'' seem to have dispensed with praenomina altogether, and by the end of the western empire, only the oldest Roman families continued to use them.
Nomen
The ''
nomen gentilicium
The (or simply ) was a hereditary name borne by the peoples of Roman Italy and later by the citizens of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. It was originally the name of one's (family or clan) by patrilineal descent. However, as Rome exp ...
'', or "gentile name", designated a Roman citizen as a member of a gens. A gens, which may be translated as "race", "family", or "clan", constituted an extended Roman family, all of whom shared the same nomen, and claimed descent from a common ancestor. Particularly in the early Republic, the gens functioned as a state within the state, observing its own sacred rites, and establishing private laws, which were binding on its members, although not on the community as a whole.
Cognomen
![N26FabiusCunctator](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/N26FabiusCunctator.jpg)
The cognomen, the third element of the ''tria nomina'', began as an additional personal name. It was not unique to Rome, but Rome was where the cognomen flourished, as the development of the gens and the gradual decline of the praenomen as a useful means of distinguishing between individuals made the cognomen a useful means of identifying both individuals and whole branches of Rome's leading families. In the early years of the Republic, some aristocratic Romans had as many as three cognomina, some of which were hereditary, while others were personal.
Like the nomen, cognomina could arise from any number of factors: personal characteristics, habits, occupations, places of origin, heroic exploits, and so forth. One class of cognomina consisted largely of archaic praenomina that were seldom used by the later Republic, although as cognomina these names persisted throughout Imperial times.
[George Davis Chase, "The Origin of Roman Praenomina", in ''Harvard Studies in Classical Philology'', vol. VIII (1897).] Many cognomina had unusual terminations for Latin names, ending in ''-a, -o'', or ''-io'', and their meanings were frequently obscure, even in antiquity; this seems to emphasize the manner in which many cognomina originally arose from nicknames. The ''-ius'' termination typical of Latin nomina was generally not used for cognomina until the fourth century AD, making it easier to distinguish between nomina and cognomina until the final centuries of the western empire.
Unlike the nomen, which was passed down unchanged from father to son, cognomina could appear and disappear almost at will. They were not normally chosen by the persons who bore them, but were earned or bestowed by others, which may account for the wide variety of unflattering names that were used as cognomina. Doubtless some cognomina were used ironically, while others continued in use largely because, whatever their origin, they were useful for distinguishing among individuals and between branches of large families. New cognomina were coined and came into fashion throughout Roman history.
Under the Empire, the number of cognomina increased dramatically. Where once only the most noble patrician houses used multiple surnames, Romans of all backgrounds and social standing might bear several cognomina. By the third century, this had become the norm amongst freeborn Roman citizens. The question of how to classify different cognomina led the grammarians of the fourth and fifth centuries to designate some of them as ''agnomina''.
For most of the Republic, the usual manner of distinguishing individuals was through the binomial form of praenomen and nomen. But as the praenomen lost its value as a distinguishing name, and gradually faded into obscurity, its former role was assumed by the versatile cognomen, and the typical manner of identifying individuals came to be by nomen and cognomen; essentially one form of binomial nomenclature was replaced by another, over the course of several centuries. The very lack of regularity that allowed the cognomen to be used as either a personal or a hereditary surname became its strength in imperial times; as a hereditary surname, a cognomen could be used to identify an individual's connection with other noble families, either by descent, or later by association. Individual cognomina could also be used to distinguish between members of the same family; even as siblings came to share the same praenomen, they bore different cognomina, some from the paternal line, and others from their maternal ancestors.
Although the nomen was a required element of Roman nomenclature down to the end of the western empire, its usefulness as a distinguishing name declined throughout imperial times, as an increasingly large portion of the population bore nomina such as ''Flavius'' or ''Aurelius'', which had been granted ''en masse'' to newly enfranchised citizens. As a result, by the third century the cognomen became the most important element of the Roman name, and frequently the only one that was useful for distinguishing between individuals. In the later empire, the proliferation of cognomina was such that the full nomenclature of most individuals was not recorded, and in many cases the only names surviving in extant records are cognomina.
By the sixth century, traditional Roman cognomina were frequently prefixed by a series of names with Christian religious significance. As Roman institutions vanished, and the distinction between nomen and cognomen ceased to have any practical importance, the complex system of cognomina that developed under the later empire faded away. The people of the western empire reverted to single names, which were indistinguishable from the cognomina that they replaced; many former praenomina and nomina also survived in this way.
Agnomen
The proliferation of cognomina in the later centuries of the Empire led some grammarians to classify certain types as ''agnomina''. This class included two main types of cognomen: the ''cognomen ex virtute'', and cognomina that were derived from nomina, to indicate the parentage of Romans who had been adopted from one gens into another. Although these names had existed throughout Roman history, it was only in this late period that they were distinguished from other cognomina.
=''Cognomina ex virtute''
=
The ''cognomen ex virtute'' was a surname derived from some virtuous or heroic episode attributed to the bearer. Roman history is filled with individuals who obtained cognomina as a result of their exploits:
Aulus Postumius Albus Regillensis
Aulus Postumius Albus Regillensis was an ancient Roman who, according to Livy, was Roman dictator in 498 or 496 BC, when he conquered the Latins in the great Battle of Lake Regillus and subsequently celebrated a triumph. Many of the coins of the ...
, who commanded the Roman army at the
Battle of Lake Regillus
The Battle of Lake Regillus was a legendary Roman victory over the Latin League shortly after the establishment of the Roman Republic and as part of a wider Latin War. The Latins were led by an elderly Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, the se ...
;
Gaius Marcius Coriolanus
Gnaeus (or Gaius) Marcius Coriolanus was a Roman general who is said to have lived in the 5th century BC. He received his toponymic cognomen "Coriolanus" following his courageous actions during a Roman siege of the Volscian city of Corioli. He was ...
, who captured the city of
Corioli Corioli was a town in ancient times in the territory of the Volsci in central Italy, in Latium adiectum.
Etymology
Linguist Roger Woodard, based on McCone, suggests the name of the town, ''Corioli'', may derive from the Proto-Indo-European root *' ...
;
Marcus Valerius Corvus
Marcus Valerius Corvus (c. 370–270 BC) was a military commander and politician from the early-to-middle period of the Roman Republic. During his career he was elected consul six times, first at the age of twenty-three. He was appointed dictator ...
, who defeated a giant
Gaul
Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...
in single combat, aided by a raven;
Titus Manlius Torquatus, who likewise defeated a Gaulish giant, and took his name from the
torque
In physics and mechanics, torque is the rotational equivalent of linear force. It is also referred to as the moment of force (also abbreviated to moment). It represents the capability of a force to produce change in the rotational motion of th ...
that he claimed as a prize;
Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus
Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus (, , ; 236/235–183 BC) was a Roman general and statesman, most notable as one of the main architects of Rome's victory against Carthage in the Second Punic War. Often regarded as one of the best military co ...
, who carried the
Second Punic War
The Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) was the second of three wars fought between Carthage and Rome, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC. For 17 years the two states struggled for supremacy, primarily in Ital ...
to Africa, and defeated
Hannibal. Interestingly, the most famous examples of this class of cognomen come from the period of the Republic, centuries before the concept of the ''agnomen'' was formulated.
=Adoptive cognomina
=
Adoption was a common and formal process in Roman culture. Its chief purpose had nothing to do with providing homes for children; it was about ensuring the continuity of family lines that might otherwise become extinct. In early Rome, this was especially important for the patricians, who enjoyed tremendous status and privilege compared with the plebeians. Because few families were admitted to the patriciate after the
expulsion of the kings, while the number of plebeians continually grew, the patricians continually struggled to preserve their wealth and influence. A man who had no sons to inherit his property and preserve his family name would adopt one of the younger sons from another family. In time, as the plebeians also acquired wealth and gained access to the offices of the Roman state, they too came to participate in the Roman system of adoption.
['' Harper's Dictionary of Classical Literature and Antiquities'', Second Edition, ]Harry Thurston Peck
Harry Thurston Peck (November 24, 1856 – March 23, 1914) was an American classical scholar, author, editor, historian and critic.
Biography
Peck was born in Stamford, Connecticut. He was educated in private schools and at Columbia College, g ...
, Editor (1897), "Adoption."
Since the primary purpose of adoption was to preserve the name and status of the adopter, an adopted son would usually assume both the praenomen and nomen of his adoptive father, together with any hereditary cognomina, just as an eldest son would have done. However, adoption did not result in the complete abandonment of the adopted son's birth name. The son's original nomen (or occasionally cognomen) would become the basis of a new surname, formed by adding the derivative suffix ''-anus'' or ''-inus'' to the stem. Thus, when a son of
Lucius Aemilius Paullus was adopted by
Publius Cornelius Scipio, he became
Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus
Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus Aemilianus (185–129 BC), known as Scipio Aemilianus or Scipio Africanus the Younger, was a Roman general and statesman noted for his military exploits in the Third Punic War against Carthage and during the ...
; in his will, the
dictator
A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a small clique. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to rule the republic in tim ...
Gaius Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...
adopted his grandnephew, Gaius Octavius, who became known as
Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus
Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...
.
Filiation
Apart from the praenomen, the ''filiation'' was the oldest element of the Roman name. Even before the development of the nomen as a hereditary surname, it was customary to use the name of a person's father as a means of distinguishing him or her from others with the same personal name, like a
patronymic
A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor.
Patronymics are still in use, including mandatory use, in many countries worldwide, alt ...
; thus Lucius, the son of Marcus, would be ''Lucius, Marci filius''; Paulla, the daughter of Quintus, would be ''Paulla, Quinti filia''. Many nomina were derived in the same way, and most praenomina have at least one corresponding nomen, such as Lucilius, Marcius, Publilius, Quinctius, or Servilius. These are known as patronymic surnames, because they are derived from the name of the original bearer's father. Even after the development of the nomen and cognomen, filiation remained a useful means of distinguishing between members of a large family.
![Dedicatory inscription Ostia Antica 2006-09-08](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/Dedicatory_inscription_Ostia_Antica_2006-09-08.jpg)
Filiations were normally written between the nomen and any cognomina, and abbreviated using the typical abbreviations for praenomina, followed by for ''filius'' or ''filia'', and sometimes for ''nepos'' (grandson) or ''neptis'' (granddaughter). Thus, the inscription means "Spurius Postumius Albus Regillensis, of Aulus the son, of Publius the grandson". "Tiberius Aemilius Mamercinus, the son of Lucius and grandson of Mamercus" would be written . The more formal the writing, the more generations might be included; a great-grandchild would be or for ''pronepos'' or ''proneptis'', a great-great-grandchild or for ''abnepos'' or ''abneptis'', and a great-great-great-grandchild ''adnepos'' or ''adneptis''. However, these forms are rarely included as part of a name, except on the grandest of monumental inscriptions.
The filiation sometimes included the name of the mother, in which case ''gnatus'' would follow the mother's name, instead of ''filius'' or ''filia''. This is especially common in families of
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 ...
origin. The names of married women were sometimes followed by the husband's name and ''uxor'' for "wife". means "Numerius Fabius Maximus, son of Quintus, grandson of Marcus, born of Furia", while would be "Claudia, wife of Lucius Valerius".
Slaves and
freedmen
A freedman or freedwoman is a formerly enslaved person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, enslaved people were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their captor-owners), abolitionism, emancipation (gra ...
also possessed filiations, although in this case the person referred to is usually the slave's owner, rather than his or her father. The abbreviations here include for ''servus'' or ''serva'' and for ''libertus'' or ''liberta''. A slave might have more than one owner, in which case the names could be given serially. In some cases the owner's nomen or cognomen was used instead of or in addition to the praenomen. The ''liberti'' of women sometimes used an inverted "C", signifying the feminine praenomen ''Gaia'', here used generically to mean any woman; and there are a few examples of an inverted "M", although it is not clear whether this was used generically, or specifically for the feminine praenomen ''Marca'' or ''Marcia''.
An example of the filiation of slaves and freedmen would be: , "Alexander, slave of Lucius Cornelius", who upon his emancipation would probably become , "Lucius Cornelius Alexander, freedman of Lucius"; it was customary for a freedman to take the praenomen of his former owner, if he did not already have one, and to use his original personal name as a cognomen. Another example might be , "Salvia Pompeia, freedwoman of Gnaeus (Pompeius) and Gaia"; here ''Gaia'' is used generically, irrespective of whether Pompeius' wife was actually named ''Gaia''. A freedman of the emperor might have the filiation , ''Augusti libertus''.
Although filiation was common throughout the history of the Republic and well into imperial times, no law governed its use or inclusion in writing. It was used by custom and for convenience, but could be ignored or discarded, as it suited the needs of the writer.
Tribe
From the beginning 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 ...
, all
citizens were enumerated in one of the
tribes
The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to conflic ...
making up the ''
comitia tributa
The Tribal Assembly (''comitia populi tributa'') was an assembly consisting of all Roman citizens convened by tribes (''tribus'').
In the Roman Republic, citizens did not elect legislative representatives. Instead, they voted themselves on legisl ...
'', or "tribal assembly". This was the most democratic of Rome's three main
legislative assemblies of the Roman Republic
The legislative assemblies of the Roman Republic were political institutions in the ancient Roman Republic. According to the contemporary historian Polybius, it was the people (and thus the assemblies) who had the final say regarding the electio ...
, in that all citizens could participate on an equal basis, without regard to wealth or social status. Over time, its decrees (known as ''plebi scita'', or "
plebiscite
A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
s") became binding on the whole Roman people. Although much of the assembly's authority was usurped by the emperors, membership in a tribe remained an important part of Roman citizenship, so that the name of the tribe came to be incorporated into a citizen's full nomenclature.
['' Harper's Dictionary of Classical Literature and Antiquities'', Second Edition, ]Harry Thurston Peck
Harry Thurston Peck (November 24, 1856 – March 23, 1914) was an American classical scholar, author, editor, historian and critic.
Biography
Peck was born in Stamford, Connecticut. He was educated in private schools and at Columbia College, g ...
, Editor (1897), "Tribus."['']Oxford Classical Dictionary
The ''Oxford Classical Dictionary'' (''OCD'') is generally considered "the best one-volume dictionary on antiquity," an encyclopædic work in English consisting of articles relating to classical antiquity and its civilizations. It was first pub ...
'', 2nd Ed. (1970), "Tribus."
The number of tribes varied over time; tradition ascribed the institution of thirty tribes to
Servius Tullius
Servius Tullius was the legendary sixth king of Rome, and the second of its Etruscan dynasty. He reigned from 578 to 535 BC. Roman and Greek sources describe his servile origins and later marriage to a daughter of Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, ...
, the sixth
King of Rome
The king of Rome ( la, rex Romae) was the ruler of the Roman Kingdom. According to legend, the first king of Rome was Romulus, who founded the city in 753 BC upon the Palatine Hill. Seven legendary kings are said to have ruled Rome until 509 ...
, but ten of these were destroyed at the beginning of the Republic. Several tribes were added between 387 and 241 BC, as large swaths of Italy came under Roman control, bringing the total number of tribes to thirty-five; except for a brief experiment at the end of the
Social War in 88 BC, this number remained fixed. The nature of the tribes was mainly geographic, rather than ethnic; inhabitants of Rome were, in theory, assigned to one of the four "urban" tribes, while the territory beyond the city was allocated to the "rural" or "rustic" tribes.
Geography was not the sole determining factor in one's ''tribus''; at times efforts were made to assign freedmen to the four urban tribes, thus concentrating their votes and limiting their influence on the ''comitia tributa''. Perhaps for similar reasons, when large numbers of provincials gained the franchise, certain rural tribes were preferred for their enrollment. Citizens did not normally change tribes when they moved from one region to another; but the
censors
Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...
had the power to punish a citizen by expelling him from one of the rural tribes and assigning him to one of the urban tribes. In later periods, most citizens were enrolled in tribes without respect to geography.
Precisely when it became common to include the name of a citizen's ''tribus'' as part of his full nomenclature is uncertain. The name of the tribe normally follows the filiation and precedes any cognomina, suggesting that its addition preceded formal recognition of the cognomen — thus, no later than the second century BC. However, in both writing and inscriptions, the ''tribus'' is found with much less frequency than other parts of the name; so the custom of including it does not seem to have been deeply ingrained in Roman practice. As with the filiation, it was common to abbreviate the name of the tribe. For the names of the thirty-five tribes and their abbreviations, see
Roman tribe.
Women's names
![Leighton, Frederic - Invocation](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/Leighton%2C_Frederic_-_Invocation.jpg)
In the earliest period, the binomial nomenclature of praenomen and nomen that developed throughout Italy was shared by both men and women.
Most praenomina had both masculine and feminine forms, although a number of praenomina common to women were seldom or never used by men. Just as men's praenomina, women's names were regularly abbreviated instead of being written in full.
[, '' Roman Female Praenomina: Studies in the Nomenclature of Roman Women' (1994), ] A list of women's praenomina can be found at
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 ...
.
For a variety of reasons, women's praenomina became neglected over the course of Roman history, and by the end of the Republic, most women did not have or did not use praenomina. They did not disappear entirely, nor were Roman women bereft of personal names; but for most of Roman history women were known chiefly by their nomina or cognomina.
The first of these reasons is probably that the praenomen itself lost much of its original utility following the adoption of hereditary surnames. The number of praenomina commonly used by both men and women declined throughout Roman history. For men, who might hold public office or serve in the military, the praenomen remained an important part of the legal name. But, as in other ancient societies, Roman women played little role in public life, so the factors that resulted in the continuation of men's praenomina did not exist for women.
Another factor was probably that the praenomen was not usually necessary to distinguish between women within the family. Because a Roman woman did not change her nomen when she married, her nomen alone was usually sufficient to distinguish her from every other member of the family. As Latin names had distinctive masculine and feminine forms, the nomen was sufficient to distinguish a daughter from both of her parents and all of her brothers. Thus, there was no need for a personal name unless there were multiple sisters in the same household.
When this occurred, praenomina could be and frequently were used to distinguish between sisters. However, it was also common to identify sisters using a variety of names, some of which could be used as either praenomina or cognomina. For example, if Publius Servilius had two daughters, they would typically be referred to as ''Servilia Major'' and ''Servilia Minor''. If there were more daughters, the eldest might be called ''Servilia Prima'' or ''Servilia Maxima''; younger daughters as ''Servilia Secunda, Tertia, Quarta'', etc. All of these names could be used as praenomina, preceding the nomen, but common usage from the later Republic onward was to treat them as personal cognomina; when these names appear in either position, it is frequently impossible to determine whether they were intended as praenomina or cognomina.
Although women's praenomina were infrequently used in the later Republic, they continued to be used, when needed, into
imperial times. Among the other peoples of Italy, women's praenomina continued to be used regularly until the populace was thoroughly Romanized. In the
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 ...
culture, where women held a markedly higher social status than at Rome or in other ancient societies, inscriptions referring to women nearly always include praenomina.
Most Roman women were known by their nomina, with such distinction as described above for older and younger siblings. If further distinction were needed, she could be identified as a particular citizen's daughter or wife. For instance,
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...
refers to a woman as ''Annia P. Anni senatoris filia'', which means "Annia, daughter of Publius Annius, the senator".
However, toward the end of the Republic, as hereditary cognomina came to be regarded as proper names, a woman might be referred to by her cognomen instead, or by a combination of nomen and cognomen; the daughter of
Lucius Caecilius Metellus was usually referred to as ''
Caecilia Metella''. Sometimes these cognomina were given diminutive forms, such as ''Agrippina'' from the masculine ''Agrippa'', or ''Drusilla'' from ''Drusus''.
In imperial times, other, less formal names were sometimes used to distinguish between women with similar names. Still later, Roman women, like men, adopted ''signa'', or alternative names, in place of their Roman names.
With the fall of the western empire in the fifth century, the last traces of the distinctive Italic nomenclature system began to disappear, and women too reverted to single names.
Foreign names
As Roman territory expanded beyond Italy, many foreigners obtained Roman citizenship, and adopted Roman names. Often these were discharged auxiliary soldiers, or the leaders of annexed towns and peoples. Customarily a newly enfranchised citizen would adopt the praenomen and nomen of his patron; that is, the person who had adopted or manumitted him, or otherwise procured his citizenship. But many such individuals retained a portion of their original names, usually in the form of cognomina. This was especially true for citizens of
Greek origin. A name such as or would be typical of such persons, although in form these names are not distinguishable from those of freedmen.
The ''
Constitutio Antoniniana
The ''Constitutio Antoniniana'' (Latin for: "Constitution r Edictof Antoninus") (also called the Edict of Caracalla or the Antonine Constitution) was an edict issued in AD 212, by the Roman Emperor Caracalla. It declared that all free men in t ...
'' promulgated by
Caracalla
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (born Lucius Septimius Bassianus, 4 April 188 – 8 April 217), better known by his nickname "Caracalla" () was Roman emperor from 198 to 217. He was a member of the Severan dynasty, the elder son of Emperor S ...
in AD 212 was perhaps the most far-reaching of many imperial decrees enfranchising large numbers of non-citizens living throughout the empire. It extended citizenship to all free inhabitants of the empire, all of whom thus received the name ''Marcus Aurelius'', after the emperor's praenomen and nomen. The result was that vast numbers of individuals who had never possessed praenomina or nomina formally shared the same names. In turn, many of the "new Romans" promptly discarded their praenomina, and ignored their nomina except when required by formality. As a result, the cognomina adopted by these citizens, often including their original non-Latin names, became the most important part of their nomenclature.
Imperial names
During the Republic, a person's names were usually static and predictable, unless he were adopted into a new family or obtained a new surname. In imperial times, however, names became highly variable and subject to change. Perhaps no names were more variable than those of the emperors.
For example, the first emperor, known conventionally as
Augustus
Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...
, began life as , or Gaius Octavius, the son of
Gaius Octavius. His ancestors had borne the same name for at least four generations.
Although the
Octavii
The gens Octavia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome, which was raised to patrician status by Caesar during the first century BC. The first member of the gens to achieve prominence was Gnaeus Octavius Rufus, quaestor ''circa'' 230 BC. Over the ...
were an old and distinguished plebeian family, the gens was not divided into ''stirpes'' and had no hereditary cognomina; Octavius' father had put down a slave revolt at
Thurii
Thurii (; grc-gre, Θούριοι, Thoúrioi), called also by some Latin writers Thurium (compare grc-gre, Θούριον in Ptolemy), for a time also Copia and Copiae, was a city of Magna Graecia, situated on the Tarentine gulf, within a sho ...
and was sometimes given the surname ''Thurinus'' (a cognomen ''ex virtute''), but this name was not passed down to the son.
At the age of eighteen in 44 BC, Octavius was nominated ''
magister equitum'' by his granduncle,
Gaius Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...
, who held the office of
dictator
A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a small clique. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to rule the republic in tim ...
. On the
Ides of March
The Ides of March (; la, Idus Martiae, Late Latin: ) is the 74th day in the Roman calendar, corresponding to 15 March. It was marked by several religious observances and was notable in Rome as a deadline for settling debts. In 44 BC, it became ...
, Caesar was
assassinated, without legitimate children; but in his will he adopted his nephew, who then became , "Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus, son of Gaius". Thus far, his name follows the Republican model, becoming that of his adoptive father, followed by his original nomen in the form of an agnomen.
Two years later, Caesar was deified by the
Roman Senate
The Roman Senate ( la, Senātus Rōmānus) was a governing and advisory assembly in ancient Rome. It was one of the most enduring institutions in Roman history, being established in the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in ...
, and Octavian, as he was then known, was styled , "son of the divine (Caesar)", instead of . Still later, after having been acclaimed ''
Imperator'' by the troops under his command, Octavian assumed this title as an additional praenomen, becoming ; in some inscriptions his original praenomen is discarded altogether. In 27 BC, the Senate granted him the title of ''Augustus'', which would ever after be affixed as a cognomen to the names of the Roman emperors.
A similar pattern was followed by Augustus' heirs. The emperor's stepson and eventual successor was born ''Tiberius, Tiberius Claudius Nero;'' after his adoption by the emperor, he became ''Tiberius Julius Caesar'' (retaining his original praenomen). His brother, born ''Nero Claudius Drusus, Decimus Claudius Nero'', subsequently became ''Nero Claudius Drusus'', exchanging his original praenomen for his paternal cognomen, and assuming a new cognomen from his maternal grandfather. Other members of the
Julio-Claudian dynasty used praenomina such as ''Drusus'' and ''Germanicus''.
In subsequent generations, all reigning emperors assumed ''Imperator'' as an additional praenomen (usually without foregoing their original praenomina), and ''Augustus'' as a cognomen. ''Caesar'' came to be used as a cognomen designating an heir apparent; and for the first two centuries of the empire, most emperors were adopted by their predecessors. The result was that each emperor bore a series of names that had more to do with the previous emperor than the names with which he had been born. They added new cognomina as they fought and conquered enemies and new lands, and their filiations recorded their descent from a series of gods. As the names of the emperors themselves changed, so did the names of the members of their families.
Later development
During the Empire, a variety of new naming conventions developed which, while differing, were internally coherent.
[Salway, p.145]
Binary nomenclature and polyonymy
Under the "High Empire", the new aristocracy began adopting two or more nomina – a practice which has been termed 'binary nomenclature'.
[Salway, p.131] This arose out of a desire to incorporate distinguished maternal ancestry in a name or, in order to inherit property, an heir was required by a will to incorporate the testator's name into his own name.
[Salway, p.132] For example, the suffect consul of AD 118/9, Gaius Bruttius Praesens Lucius Fulvius Rusticus, has a name which is composed of two standard sets of tria nomina: he was the natural son of a Lucius Bruttius, and added the nomina of his maternal grandfather, Lucius Fulvius Rusticus, to his paternal nomina.
[
In order to reflect an illustrious pedigree or other connections, the aristocracy expanded the binary nomenclature concept to include other nomina from an individual's paternal and maternal ancestry.][ There was no limit to the number of names which could be added in this way (known as polyonomy), and, for example, the consul of 169 AD, (usually called Quintus Pompeius Senecio Sosius Priscus, Q. Sosius Priscus) had thirty-eight names comprising fourteen sets of nomina reflecting a complex pedigree stretching back three generations.][
]
Cognomen replaces praenomen
The praenomen, even under the classic system, had never been particularly distinctive because of the limited number of praenomina available. Between the late Republic and the second century AD, the praenomen gradually became less used and eventually disappeared altogether.[ Even among the senatorial aristocracy it became a rarity by about 300 AD.][ In part this came about through a tendency for the same praenomen to be given to all males of a family, thereby fossilizing a particular preaenomen/nomen combination and making the praenomen even less distinctive e.g. all males in the emperor Vespasian's family (including all his sons) had the praenomen/nomen combination Titus Flavius:][Salway, p.130]
The cognomen, as in Vespasian's family, then assumed the distinguishing function for individuals; where this happened, the cognomen replaced the praenomen in intimate address.[ The result was that two names remained in use for formal public address but instead of praenomen + nomen, it became nomen + cognomen.][
]
Edict of Caracalla
With the Constitutio Antoniniana
The ''Constitutio Antoniniana'' (Latin for: "Constitution r Edictof Antoninus") (also called the Edict of Caracalla or the Antonine Constitution) was an edict issued in AD 212, by the Roman Emperor Caracalla. It declared that all free men in t ...
in 212, the emperor Caracalla
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (born Lucius Septimius Bassianus, 4 April 188 – 8 April 217), better known by his nickname "Caracalla" () was Roman emperor from 198 to 217. He was a member of the Severan dynasty, the elder son of Emperor S ...
granted Roman citizenship to all free inhabitants of the empire. It had long been the expectation that when a non-Roman acquired citizenship he, as part of his enfranchisement, took on a Roman name.[Salway, p.133] With the mass enfranchisement of 212, the new citizens adopted Aurelia gens, the nomen "Aurelius" in recognition of Caracalla's beneficence[ (the emperor's full name was Marcus Aurelius Severus Antoninus Augustus, with Aurelius as the nomen). "Aurelius" quickly became the most common nomen in the east and the second most common (after "Julius") in the west.][Salway, p.134] The change in the origins of the new governing elite that assumed control of the empire from the end of the third century can be seen in their names: seven of the eleven emperors between Gallienus and Diocletian (Claudius Gothicus, Quintillus, Probus (emperor), Probus, Carus, Carinus, Numerian and Maximian) bore the name "Marcus Aurelius"[Salway, p.136]
Although praenomina were not adopted by the new citizens, reflecting the pre-existing decline amongst "old" Romans,[ in the west the new names were formulated on the same basis as the existing Roman practices.][ In the east, however, the new citizens formulated their names by placing "Aurelius" before versions of their non-Roman given name and a patronymic.][ Ultimately, the ubiquity of "Aurelius" meant that it could not function as a true distinguishing nomen, and became primarily just a badge of citizenship added to any name.][
]
Traditional nomen replaced
Although a nomen would long be required for official purposes, and, in isolated corners of the empire and in parts of Italy, its usage would persist into the seventh century, the nomen was generally omitted from the name (even of emperors) by the third century.[
Two factors encouraged its frequent non-use. Firstly, the cognomen increasingly became the distinguishing name and general name of address.][ As a result, "New Romans" and, under their influence, "old Romans" too, either dropped the nomen from their name][ or, in some cases, treated the nomen as a praenomen.][
Secondly, with the nomen becoming an increasingly fossilized formality, non-Italian families, even those who had acquired citizenship and a nomen prior to 212, began to ignore their nomen.][Salway, p.135] When a nomen was required for official purposes they would simply put the default nomen of "Aurelius" in front of their name, rather than use their actual nomen.[
]
See also
*
*
* Spanish naming customs
* Portuguese name
* French name
* Italian name
* Romanian name
Notes
References
Bibliography
*
* ''Cambridge Latin Course'', University of Cambridge Press 2004,
* Liberati, Anna Maria and Bourbon, Fabio (2005), ''Ancient Rome'', Barnes and Noble Press,
External links
Roman Names
Names of Byzantine Romans in Turkish
{{Names in world cultures
Roman naming conventions,
Names by culture
Naming conventions