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18-406: From its grammatical form, Censorinus is presumably his cognomen , the shared surname of a branch of a Roman family ( gens ). The cognomen Censorinus would typically be used by those descended from, adopted by , or related by prominent marriage to someone who had held the office of censor . Censorinus's given name ( praenomen ) and family name ( nomen ) are unknown, although

36-553: A shorthand for Marcus Tullius Cicero, and Caesar for Gaius Julius Caesar . The term "cognomen" (sometimes pluralized "cognomens") has come into use as an English noun used outside the context of Ancient Rome. According to the 2012 edition of the Random House Dictionary , cognomen can mean a "surname" or "any name, especially a nickname". The basic sense in English is "how one is well known". For example Alfred

54-555: The Marcii Censorini were by far the most prominent family to use the cognomen. The author is sometimes distinguished as Censorinus the Grammarian ( Censorinus Grammaticus ). Little is known of Censorinus, although he lived during the 3rd century and apparently dedicated De Die Natali to his patron Quintus Caerellius as a birthday gift. Censorinus was the author of a lost work De Accentibus as well as

72-507: The Sea of Tranquility on the Moon has been named after him. This ancient Roman biographical article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Cognomen A cognomen ( Latin: [kɔŋˈnoːmɛn] ; pl. : cognomina ; from co- "together with" and (g)nomen "name") was the third name of a citizen of ancient Rome , under Roman naming conventions . Initially, it

90-619: The Xhosa ( Iziduko ), the Yoruba ( Oriki ), and the Zulu ( Izibongo ). Agnomen An agnomen ( Latin: [aŋˈnoːmɛn] ; pl. : agnomina ), in the Roman naming convention , was a nickname , just as the cognomen had been initially. However, the cognomina eventually became family names, and so agnomina were needed to distinguish between similarly-named persons. However, as

108-577: The agnomen comes from outside, and in three styles, from personality or physique or achievements: From personality, such as Superbus ["Haughty"] and Pius [displaying the Roman syndrome of virtues including honesty, reverence to the gods, devotion to family and state, etc. ], from physique, such as Crassus ["Fatty"] and Pulcher ["Handsome"], or from achievements, such as Africanus and Creticus [from their victories in Africa and on Crete]. Africanus, Creticus and

126-502: The agnomen was an additional and optional component in a Roman name, not all Romans had an agnomen . Pseudo-Probus uses the hero of the Punic Wars, Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus , as an example: Men's personal names are of four types, praenomen , nomen , cognomen and agnomen : 'praenomen for instance Publius, nomen Cornelius, cognomen Scipio and agnomen Africanus. Marius Victorinus further elucidates: Now

144-549: The agnomen . For example, Publius Cornelius Scipio received the agnomen Africanus after his victory over the Carthaginian general Hannibal at Zama, Africa ( Africanus here means "of Africa" in the sense that his fame derives from Africa, rather than being born in Africa, which would have been Afer ); and the same procedure occurred in the names of Quintus Caecilius Metellus Numidicus (conqueror of Numidia) and Quintus Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus . In contrast to

162-638: The Great . (This is more similar to the Roman use of agnomen than their use of cognomen.) Catalan cognom and Italian cognome , derived from the Latin cognomen , mean "family name". Maltese kunjom is derived from the Italian version and retains the same meaning. The term "cognomen" can also be applied to cultures with a clan structure and naming conventions comparable to those of Ancient Rome; thus, hereditary "cognomina" have been described as in use among

180-583: The doctrines of the Greek philosophers , and antiquarian subjects. The second part deals with chronological and mathematical questions, and has been of great service in determining the principal epochs of ancient history. The whole is full of curious and interesting information. The style is clear and concise, although somewhat rhetorical , and the Latinity —for the period—good. The chief authorities used were Varro and Suetonius . Some scholars, indeed, hold that

198-494: The entire work is practically an adaptation of the lost Pratum of Suetonius. The fragments of a work De Naturali Institutione , dealing with astronomy, geometry , music , and versification , and usually printed with the De Die Natali of Censorinus, are not by him. Part of the original manuscript, containing the end of the genuine work, and the title and name of the author of the fragment are lost. A bright crater in

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216-415: The family from one another, and occasionally, to highlight an individual's achievement, typically in warfare. One example of this is Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus , whose cognomen Magnus was earned after his military victories under Sulla 's dictatorship. The cognomen was a form of distinguishing people who accomplished important feats, and those who already bore a cognomen were awarded another exclusive name,

234-688: The honorary cognomina adopted by successful generals, most cognomina were based on a physical or personality quirk; for example, Rufus meaning " red-haired " or Scaevola meaning " left-handed ". Some cognomina were hereditary (such as Caesar among a branch of the Julii , Brutus and Silanus among the Junii , or Pilius and Metellus among the Caecilii ): others tended to be individual. And some names appear to have been used both as praenomen , agnomen , or non-hereditary cognomen . For instance, Vopiscus

252-457: The likes are also known as victory titles . For example, Gaius Marcius Coriolanus earned his from the capture of Corioli . Latin agnōmen (also spelled adnomen ) comes from ad "to" and nōmen "name". As a minimum, a Roman agnomen is a name attached to an individual's full titulature after birth and formal naming by the family. True Roman nicknames, fully replacing the individual's name in usage, are rare. One such example in which

270-675: The nickname fully replaced the individual's name in usage was the Emperor Caligula ; that name was used in place of and not along with his full name, which was Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus. Caligula's praenomen was Gaius, his nomen Julius, his cognomen Caesar. Some agnomina were inherited like cognomina and thus established a sub-family. Caligula's agnomen came from the little boots that he wore as part of his miniature soldier's uniform while accompanying his father, Germanicus , on campaigns in northern Germania . In turn, Germanicus received his agnomen in 9 BC, when it

288-525: The surviving De Die Natali . De Die Natali ( Latin for "On the Natal Day" or "On the Birthday") or Opusculum de Die Natali ("Little Work on the Birthday") was apparently written in 238 for the birthday of Censorinus's patron Quintus Caerellius. The contents are of a varied character: the natural history of man, the influence of the stars and genii , music, religious rites , astronomy ,

306-438: Was a nickname , but lost that purpose when it became hereditary. Hereditary cognomina were used to augment the second name, the nomen gentilicium (the family name , or clan name), in order to identify a particular branch within a family or family within a clan. The term has also taken on other contemporary meanings. Because of the limited nature of the Latin praenomen , the cognomen developed to distinguish branches of

324-499: Was used as both praenomen and cognomen in the Julii Caesares; likewise Nero among the early imperial Claudii , several of whom used the traditional hereditary Claudian cognomen as a praenomen. The upper-class usually used the cognomen to refer to one another. In present academic context, many prominent ancient Romans are referred to by only their cognomen ; for example, Cicero (from cicer " chickpea ") serves as

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