History 375 Dr.

Pamela Johnston Ancient Roman Names

There were three basic parts to a Roman male’s name; women’s names will be discussed below.
The first (and probably earliest) name was called the praenomen (plural, praenomina), which
means “the name coming before.” This is roughly equivalent to our first name. Although there
must have been dozens of these praenomina in the earliest history of the Latinic peoples, there
were only about fifteen Roman praenomina commonly in use by the Roman elite in the late
Republic (2nd-1st century B.C.E):

Praenomen abbreviation (praenomina were commonly abbreviated on inscriptions,

and
Appius Ap. many secondary sources use these abbreviations)
Aulus A.
Decimus D.
Gaius C.*
Gnaeus Cn.*
Lucius L.
Marcus M.
Numerius Num.
Publius P.
Quintus Q.
Servius Ser.
Sextus Sex.
Spurius Sp.
Tiberius Ti.
Titus T.

Obviously, some of these names reflect either the birth order of their owners, or (perhaps) the
month in which they were born: Decimus, “10th”, Quintus, “5th”, Sextus, “6th”, and so on.

The second and most important name was the nomen: (plural, nomina), the hereditary family
name. Everyone from the same gens (“clan”, whence the English words “geneology,” “gentile”)
would have the same nomen—very similar to our last name. Arising from a need to identify the
family group to which a Roman belonged, this new form gradually (from about 700 B.C.)
replaced the praenomen as the main identifying name. Some common nomina: Caecilius,
Cornelius, Fabius, Iulius, Pompeius, Porcius, Quinctilius, Tullius.

The nomina arose from several different sources: most were derived from a (genitive) form of
the father’s praenomen, such as Marcius from Marcus or Servilius from Servius (note the suffix
–ius which shows the patronymic); some from place names (Norbanus from the city of Norba);
and some from cognomina (see below): Plancius from Plancus (“flat-footed”), Claudius (from
an obsolete nomen claudus, “limping”?) The derivation of some nomina is obscure (i.e.
Aemilius).

As the population in Rome grew, it became necessary to differentiate further between the many
members of a gens bearing the same praenomen and nomen. This was done by adding a name
that referred to some unique personal characteristic: for example, a physical feature, mental
quality, or occupation. This name was called a cognomen (“added name,” plural, cognomina).

Some examples: Agricola “farmer,” Brutus “ugly brute,” Caecus “blind,” Cato “sharp,” Caesar
“hairy,” Cicero “chickpea,” Flaccus “flap-eared,” Longus “tall,” Plancus “flat-footed,” Pulcher
“good-looking,” Rufus “red-haired,” Scaevola “lefty.”
Later, as the cognomen was passed on from father to son, it lost its “personal touch,” just as
today few people with the last names of Baker, Chandler, Cooper, Weaver, Grey, Long, or
Smith actually reflect the original meaning of those names, and merely identified the owner as
belonging to a specific branch (stirps) of a larger gens.

agnomen: (plural, agnomina), a fairly rare additional name, usually given to commemorate an
outstanding achievement: In the name P. Cornelius Scipio Africanus, the agnomen Africanus
(“Conqueror of the Africans”) refers to Scipio’s victory over Hannibal and the Carthaginians in
the Second Punic War, 218-201 B.C.E

In daily use one might address a family member by his praenomen and a friend by his nomen or
cognomen. The “official” version, however, was the tria nomina, (all “three names,” praenomen
(abbreviated in insciptions), nomen, cognomen): M. Tullius Cicero, for example. In the fullest
form, however, the Roman nomenclature included even more information:
praenomen, nomen, filiation (who your father and grandfather were), voting tribe, and
cognomen
M(arcus) Tullius M.f(ilius) M.n(epos) Cor(nelia tribu) Cicero
“Marcus, from the Tullian gens, son of Marcus, grandson of Marcus, from the Cornelian voting
tribe, Cicero.”

Women’s names:
Originally it appeared that women (just as men) were identified by praenomina. (A few are
known: “Gaia” is a good example.) However, with the introduction of the nomina most of these
praenomina were discarded and the feminine form of the nomen was used. Examples: Aemilia,
Claudia, Cornelia, Porcia, Tullia.

In addition, descriptive names would often be attached. Some referred to the order of birth:
Maxima or Prima (for the eldest daughter)
Secunda (the second daughter)
Tertia (the third daughter)
Others were endearing nicknames (diminutives): Tulliola (“little Tullia,”) from the nomen
Tullius
Primula, Secundina, Tertiola, Tertulla, etc. are diminuatives formed from the descriptive ordinal
names.

Women did not change their names upon marriage, but occasionally the nomen of the husband
(in the genitive case) could be added to a woman’s name. This was called a gamonymic (=
“married name”):
Curtia Rosci: “Curtia, (wife) of Roscus” (CIL I2 143)
Luscia M(arci) uxor: “Luscia, wife of M(arcus)” (CIL I2 184)
The filiation (who your father was) could also be used:
Anicia M.f(ilia): “Anicia, daughter of Marcus” (CIL I2 73)

Women’s cognomina were rare in the Republic but became more common during the Empire.
Here are two examples:

Numitoria Fregellana (from the town of Fregellae in south Latium)

Caecilia Metella (the father’s cognomen was Metellus)

Notes: CIL I2= Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum, (“Body of Latin Inscriptions”), second edition,
ed. G. Henzen (1893-1943) Volume I. The CIL is a massive modern collection of ancient Latin
inscriptions.