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. Because Latin names had both masculine and feminine forms, the nomen itself was sufficient to distinguish a Roman woman from her father and brothers. [3], Several names were used by only a few patrician families, although they were more widespread amongst the plebeians. Each of the Italic peoples had its own distinctive group of praenomina. An example of a diminutive of a feminine praenomen is Ravntzu (from Ranvthu). [1][2], In the earliest period, both men and women used praenomina. 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. With respect to personal names, the Etruscans borrowed a large number of praenomina from Latin and Oscan, adding them to their own unique names. [1][4][12], Apart from the praenomen, the filiation was the oldest element of the Roman name. Aemilius L. f. Mam. 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. A number of emperors considered Imperator as a praenomen, and thus part of their names. Most common praenomina were regularly abbreviated in writing (in speech the full name would always be used). C. Julius Divi f. Caesar Octavianus; in some inscriptions his original praenomen is discarded altogether. In subsequent generations, all reigning emperors assumed Imperator as an additional praenomen (usually without foregoing their original praenomina), and Augustus as a cognomen. [4] Other praenomina were used by the Oscan, Umbrian, and Etruscan-speaking peoples of Italy, and many of these also had regular abbreviations. The most prominent plebeian families also tended to limit the names of which they made regular use, although amongst both social classes, there must have been exceptions whenever a family had a large number of sons. Firstly, the cognomen increasingly became the distinguishing name and general name of address. 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. Caligula's praenomen was Gaius, his nomen Julius, his cognomen Caesar. A freedman took the praenomen and nomen of his former master, who was now his patron, plus his slave name as a cognomen; if he had been freed by a woman, he took her father's praenomen and nomen plus his slave name (e.g., Marcus Antonius' daughter Antonia freed a slave named Pallas, who was then called M. Antonius Pallas). 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. In most instances, the reason why certain praenomina were preferred and others avoided probably arose from the desire to pass on family names. Aule, Cae, Cneve, Lucie, Mamarce, Marce, Metie, Pavle, Puplie, Spurie, Tite, Thefarie, Uchtave, and Vipie may be recognized as the Latin praenomina Aulus, Gaius, Gnaeus, Lucius, Mamercus, Marcus, Mettius, Paullus, Publius, Spurius, Titus, Tiberius, Octavius, and Vibius. Even after the development of the nomen and cognomen, filiation remained a useful means of distinguishing between members of a large family. Sometimes these cognomina were given diminutive forms, such as Agrippina from the masculine Agrippa, or Drusilla from Drusus.[1]. By the 2nd century A.D., several of these names had also passed out of general use at Rome, leaving Aulus, Decimus, Gaius, Gnaeus, Lucius, Manius, Marcus, Numerius, Publius, Quintus, Sextus, Titus, and Tiberius. The reverse was also common, especially in imperial times; a personal cognomen would be placed before a woman's nomen, in the place of a praenomen. The filiation sometimes included the name of the mother, in which case gnatus[ix] would follow the mother's name, instead of filius or filia. For instance, Cicero refers to a woman as Annia P. Anni senatoris filia, which means "Annia, daughter of Publius Annius, the senator". In some cases the owner's nomen or cognomen was used instead of or in addition to the praenomen. [9] 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. Here the name "Gaia" seems to have been used generically to represent any woman, although in some instances an inverted "M." for Marcia seems to have been used as well. Male citizens of the Roman Empire used the tria nomina(literally, "three names"). 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. Like the masculine praenomina, the months of the old Roman Calendar had names based on the numbers five through ten: Quintilis (July), Sextilis (August), September, October, November, and December. [8], Of course, there were many exceptions to these general practices. Included are names that are certainly praenomina, no matter their linguistic origin. 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. Roman history is filled with individuals who obtained cognomina as a result of their exploits: Aulus Postumius Albus Regillensis, who commanded the Roman army at the Battle of Lake Regillus; Gaius Marcius Coriolanus, who captured the city of Corioli; Marcus Valerius Corvus, who defeated a giant Gaul in single combat, aided by a raven; Titus Manlius Torquatus, who likewise defeated a Gaulish giant, and took his name from the torque that he claimed as a prize; Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus, who carried the Second Punic War to Africa, and defeated Hannibal. Perhaps for similar reasons, when large numbers of provincials gained the franchise, certain rural tribes were preferred for their enrollment. The question of how to classify different cognomina led the grammarians of the fourth and fifth centuries to designate some of them as agnomina. This page was last edited on 22 October 2020, at 05:53. However, the cultural interchange was not all one-way. About three dozen Latin praenomina were in use at the beginning of the Republic, although only about eighteen were common. The names of married women were sometimes followed by the husband's name and uxor for "wife". Fasti may be borrowed from the Latin praenomen Fausta. However, many of the meanings popularly assigned to various praenomina appear to have been no more than "folk etymology".