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60-550: The Sulpicii made regular use of only four praenomina : Publius , Servius , Quintus , and Gaius . The only other praenomen appearing under the Republic is Marcus , known from the father of Gaius Sulpicius Peticus , five times consul during the fourth century BC. The last of the Sulpicii known to have held the consulship, in the second century AD, was named Sextus , a praenomen otherwise unknown in this gens. During

120-508: A cock , or to a Gaul . The greatest of this family, Gaius Sulpicius Gallus , was a successful general and statesman, as well as an orator and scholar much admired by Cicero . The Sulpicii Galbae first came to prominence during the Second Punic War , and remained distinguished until the first century AD, when Servius Sulpicius Galba claimed the title of Emperor. Suetonius gives four possible explanations of this surname: that

180-489: A ceremonial writing down of the child's new name, perhaps in a family chronicle. To the Romans, the giving of a name was as important as being born. The receiving of a praenomen inaugurated the child as an individual with its own fate. A child's name may have been decided on before hand in the preceding days. In rare instances children were given names before the ceremony or posthumously, for example one child named Simplicius

240-507: A fate of its own." The day was celebrated with a family feast. The childhood goddess Nundina presided over the event , and the goddess Nona was supposed to determine a person's lifespan. Prior to the ceremony infants were not considered part of the household, even if their father had raised them up during a tollere liberum . On the dies lustricus , the Fata Scribunda were invoked. The "Written Fates" probably refers to

300-399: A greenish-yellow color. Praenomen The praenomen ( Classical Latin : [prae̯ˈnoːmɛn] ; plural: praenomina ) was a first 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 birth of a boy. The praenomen would then be formally conferred

360-703: A larger percentage of the Roman populace came from backgrounds that had never used traditional Roman names, the praenomen was frequently omitted, or at least ignored. In its place, an increasing number of magistrates and officials placed common nomina, frequently with praenomen-like abbreviations. The most common of these were Flavius (Fl.), Claudius (Cl.), Julius, Junius, Valerius (Val.), and Aurelius. These names appear almost arbitrarily, much like praenomina, and probably were intended to imply nobility, although ultimately they became so common as to lose any real significance. Many Oscan praenomina appear throughout Roman history, as

420-716: A second time when girls married, or when boys assumed the toga virilis upon reaching manhood. Although it was the oldest of the tria nomina commonly used in Roman naming conventions , by the late republic, most praenomina were so common that most people were called by their praenomina only by family or close friends. For this reason, although they continued to be used, praenomina gradually disappeared from public records during imperial times. Although both men and women received praenomina, women's praenomina were frequently ignored, and they were gradually abandoned by many Roman families, though they continued to be used in some families and in

480-411: A small fraction of the entire Roman populace. The Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft mentions about ten thousand individuals whose praenomina are known from surviving works of history, literature, and various inscriptions. These individuals are spread over a period of over twelve centuries, with the smallest sample coming from the early Republic, when the greatest variety of praenomina

540-723: A small number of praenomina, probably as a means of distinguishing themselves from one another and from the plebeians, who used a wider variety of names. For example, the Cornelii used Aulus, Gnaeus, Lucius, Marcus, Publius, Servius, and Tiberius; the Julii limited themselves to Lucius, Gaius, Sextus, and Vopiscus; the Claudii were fond of Appius, Gaius, and Publius; the Postumii favored Aulus, Gaius, Lucius, Publius, and Spurius; and so on. The most prominent plebeian families also tended to limit

600-616: A woman's nomen or cognomen, as if a surname, even though they were used as praenomina. 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. In both cases, the name was functionally a praenomen, irrespective of its position in the name. For this reason, it is often impossible to distinguish between women's praenomina and personal cognomina. In imperial times, Roman women were more likely to have praenomina if they had several older sisters. A daughter who had been called simply by her nomen for several years

660-402: Is certainly not correct belongs to Spurius, a praenomen that was amongst the most common, and favored by many leading patrician and plebeian families during the early Republic. It was later said that it was a contraction of the phrase, sine pater filius , "son without a father", and thus used for children born out of wedlock. This belief may have led to the gradual disappearance of the name during

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720-516: Is recorded to have died the same day as he was born, possibly only living an hour. Often when a boy was commemorated despite dying before their name giving they are recorded only with their family nomen and possibly a cognomen . In the past some historians such as Theodor Mommsen believed that all male infants who died before their naming day were given a pseudopreanomen "Pupus" (a pet name meaning "little boy") in place of an actual praenomen on inscriptions , but it has later been proven that Pupus

780-439: The dies lustricus ("day of lustration " or "purification day") was a traditional naming ceremony in which an infant was purified and given a praenomen ( given name ). This occurred on the eighth day for girls and the ninth day for boys, a difference Plutarch explains by noting that "it is a fact that the female grows up, and attains maturity and perfection before the male." Until the umbilical cord fell off, typically on

840-843: The Latino-Faliscan languages , including the tribes of the Latini , or Latins, who formed the core of the early Roman populace, and their neighbors, the Falisci and Hernici ; the Oscan languages , including the Sabines , who also contributed to early Roman culture, as well as the Samnites , and many other peoples of central and southern Italy; and the Umbrian languages , spoken by the Umbri of

900-586: The toga praetexta , a toga with a purple border worn by boys and magistrates. Something veiled or concealed could also be described as praetextatus . The Sulpicii Longi flourished during the fourth century BC, from the time of the Gallic sack of Rome in 390 to the period of the Samnite Wars . The cognomen Longus may have been bestowed upon the ancestor of this family because he was particularly tall. The surname Rufus , meaning "red", probably referred to

960-609: The Aemilii and the Pinarii, Vopiscus only by the Julii, and Decimus was not used by any patrician family (unless the Junii were, as is sometimes believed, originally patrician), although it was widely used amongst the plebeians. Throughout Roman history, the most common praenomen was Lucius, followed by Gaius, with Marcus in third place. During the most conservative periods, these three names could account for as much as fifty percent of

1020-851: The Central Apennines , the rustic Picentes of the Adriatic coast, and the Volsci . In addition to the Italic peoples was the Etruscan civilization , whose language was unrelated to Indo-European, but who exerted a strong cultural influence throughout much of Italy, including early Rome. The Italic nomenclature system cannot clearly be attributed to any one of these cultures, but seems to have developed simultaneously amongst each of them, perhaps due to constant contact between them. It first appears in urban centers and thence gradually spread to

1080-607: The Etruscans, or vice versa. The best case may be for Tiberius being an Etruscan name, since that praenomen was always connected with the sacred river on the boundary of Etruria and Latium, and the Etruscan name for the Tiber was Thebris . However, it still may be that the Romans knew the river by this name when the praenomen came into existence. Many families, particularly amongst the great patrician houses, limited themselves to

1140-529: The Italic peoples had its own distinctive group of praenomina. A few names were shared between cultures, and the Etruscans in particular borrowed many praenomina from Latin and Oscan. It is disputed whether some of the praenomina used by the Romans themselves were of distinctly Etruscan or Oscan origin. However, these names were in general use at Rome and other Latin towns, and were used by families that were certainly of Latin origin. Thus, irrespective of their actual etymology, these names may be regarded as Latin. In

1200-466: The Latin name closest in sound to Attius. Aulus, Publius, Spurius, and Tiberius are sometimes attributed to Etruscan, in which language they are all common, although these names were also typical of praenomina used in families of indisputably Latin origin, such as the Postumii or the Cornelii. In this instance, it cannot be determined with any certainty whether these were Latin names which were borrowed by

1260-543: The Republic, several branches of the Sulpician gens were identified by numerous cognomina , including Camerinus, Cornutus, Galba , Gallus , Longus, Paterculus, Peticus, Praetextatus, Quirinus, Rufus, and Saverrio . In addition to these cognomina, we meet with some other surnames belonging to freedmen and to other persons under the Empire. On coins we find the surnames Galba, Platorinus, Proclus , and Rufus . Camerinus

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1320-475: The Romans encountered both friendly and hostile tribes, and slowly absorbed the peoples of Italy into their sphere of influence. Umbrian praenomina are less well-known, but appear to have been similar to those of the Oscans. Although it is widely believed that the Latin praenomen Mamercus was of Oscan origin, since Mamers was a Sabine form of Mars, it is not clear to what extent the two cultures (which sprang from

1380-654: The adult male population. At some distance were Publius and Quintus, only about half as common as Lucius, distantly followed by Titus. Aulus, Gnaeus, Spurius, Sextus, and Servius were less common, followed by Manius, Tiberius, Caeso, Numerius, and Decimus, which were decidedly uncommon (at least amongst the patricians) during the Republic. Throughout Republican times, the number of praenomina in general use declined, but older names were occasionally revived by noble families, and occasionally anomalous names such as Ancus, Iulus, or Kanus were given. Some of these may have been ancient praenomina that had already passed out of common use by

1440-412: The circumstances of a child's birth; for instance, Agrippa was said to refer to a child who was born feet-first; Caeso to a child born by the operation known today as a Caesarean section ; Lucius to one born at dawn; Manius to one born in the morning; Numerius to one born easily; Opiter to one whose father had died, leaving his grandfather as head of the family; Postumus to a last-born child (whether or not

1500-504: The color of the hair of one of the Sulpicii, and may have begun as a cadet branch of the Camerini, as both cognomina were united in the consul of 345 BC. Several Sulpicii bearing this surname appear towards the end of the Republic, but as some appear to have been patricians and others plebeians, they may have constituted two distinct families. The Sulpicii Galli were a family of the second and third centuries BC. Their cognomen may refer to

1560-508: The consulship in AD 9. The family was reckoned one of the noblest in Rome in the early times of the Empire. The Praetextati appear in the second half of the fifth century BC. The family appears to have been a small one, descended from the Camerini. It probably derived its name from one of several related meanings. Praetextus commonly referred to clothing with a decorative border, and especially to

1620-567: The countryside. The tria nomina , consisting of praenomen, nomen and cognomen , which are today regarded as a distinguishing feature of Roman culture, first developed and spread throughout Italy in pre-Roman times. Most of the people of Italy spoke languages belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European language family ; the three major groups within the Italian peninsula were

1680-404: The countryside. In the earliest period, each person was known by a single name, or nomen. These nomina were monothematic ; that is, they expressed a single concept or idea. As populations grew, many individuals might be known by the same name. Unlike the other cultures of Europe, which dealt with this problem by adopting dithematic names (names expressing two ideas), the peoples of Italy developed

1740-452: The earliest period, both men and women used praenomina. However, with the adoption of hereditary surnames, the praenomen lost much of its original importance. The number of praenomina in general use declined steadily throughout Roman history, and as most families used the same praenomina from one generation to the next, the praenomen became less useful for distinguishing between individuals. Women's praenomina gradually fell into disuse, and by

1800-732: The early Republic. As they vanished from use as personal names, many older praenomina, such as Agrippa, Faustus, Mamercus, Paullus, Postumus, Proculus, and Vopiscus were revived as cognomina. Other examples of names that may once have been praenomina include Fusus, an early cognomen of gens Furia , and Cossus, a cognomen of gens Cornelia . By the first century BC, the praenomina remaining in general use at Rome were: Appius, Aulus, Caeso, Decimus, Gaius, Gnaeus, Lucius, Mamercus, Manius, Marcus, Numerius, Publius, Quintus, Servius, Sextus, Spurius, Titus, and Tiberius. However, older names continued to be revived from time to time, especially in noble families, and they probably continued to be used outside Rome. By

1860-492: The early centuries of the Roman Republic, about three dozen praenomina seem to have been in general use at Rome, of which about half were common. This number gradually dwindled to about eighteen praenomina by the first century BC, of which perhaps a dozen were common. Notes: Some of the praenomina in this list are known from only a few examples. However, the overall sample from which they have been taken represents only

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1920-409: The father was dead); Proculus to one whose father was far away; Vopiscus to the survivor of twins, the other of whom was born dead. Most of these are not based on credible etymology, although the meanings assigned to Lucius, Manius, and Postumus are probably reasonable. Amongst other credible meanings assigned to praenomina, Faustus certainly means "fortunate" in Latin; Gaius is thought to derive from

1980-490: The feminine form of Caeso , and the personal cognomen Agrippina probably represents the feminine form of Agrippa . Two notable exceptions to the usual formation are Marcia and Titia , both of which regularly formed as "i-stem" nouns, instead of the expected Marca and Tita (although those forms are also found). Feminine praenomina were usually abbreviated in the same manner as their masculine counterparts, but were often written in full. One notable exception occurs in

2040-566: The filiations of liberti , where the abbreviation "C." for Gaia was frequently reversed to indicate a woman. 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. The following list includes feminine praenomina which are known or reasonably certain from extant sources and inscriptions, and which were clearly used as praenomina, rather than nicknames or inverted cognomina. Several variations are known for some praenomina, of which only

2100-487: The first century AD. Appius is sometimes said to be of Oscan origin, since it is known chiefly from the descendants of Appius Claudius , a Sabine from the town of Cures, who came to Rome in the early years of the Republic, and was admitted to the Patriciate. His original name was said to be Attius Clausus, which he then Romanized. However, the praenomen Appius is known from other Latin sources, and may simply represent

2160-407: The first century the majority of Roman women either did not have or did not use praenomina. A similar process occurred throughout Italy, except amongst the Etruscans, for whom feminine praenomina were the rule. The abandonment of women's praenomina over time was more the result of practical usage than a deliberate process. Because Latin names had both masculine and feminine forms, the nomen itself

2220-404: The first of the family burnt a town he had besieged, using torches smeared with galbanum , a type of gum; or that, chronically ill, he made regular use of a type of remedy wrapped in wool, known as galbeum ; or that galba was a Gallic word for someone very fat; or instead that he resembled a galba , a grub or caterpillar. The surname may also share a common root with the adjective galbinus ,

2280-419: The first true surnames, or cognomina. At first these were generally personal names, and might refer to any number of things, including a person's occupation, town of origin, the name of his or her father, or some physical feature or characteristic. But gradually an increasing number of them became hereditary, until they could be used to distinguish whole families from one generation to another. As this happened,

2340-469: The grounds that they had plotted to restore the king to power. Another legend relates that after Marcus Manlius Capitolinus was condemned for treason, the Roman Senate decreed that no member of gens Manlia should bear the praenomen Marcus, a tradition that seems to have been followed until the first century. However, normally such matters were left to the discretion of the family. In most instances,

2400-661: The importance of the praenomen in everyday life declined considerably, together with the number of praenomina in common use. By the first century they were occasionally omitted from public records, and by the middle of the fourth century they were seldom recorded. As the Roman Empire expanded, much of the populace came from cultures with different naming conventions, and the formal structure of the tria nomina became neglected. Various names that were originally nomina or cognomina came to be treated as praenomina, and some individuals used several of them at once. However, some vestiges of

2460-420: The meanings popularly assigned to various praenomina appear to have been no more than "folk etymology". The names derived from numbers are the most certain. The masculine names Quintus, Sextus, Septimus, Octavius and Decimus, and the feminine names Prima, Secunda, Tertia, Quarta, Quinta, Sexta, Septima, Octavia, Nona and Decima are all based on ordinal numerals . There may also have been a praenomen Nonus, as there

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2520-625: The modern Latin alphabet . However, the cultural interchange was not all one-way. With respect to personal names, the Etruscans borrowed a large number of praenomina from Latin and Oscan, adding them to their own unique names. The Etruscan language is still imperfectly known, and the number of inscriptions are limited, so this list of Etruscan praenomina encompasses what has been discovered to this point. Included are names that are certainly praenomina, no matter their linguistic origin. Names that might be nomina or cognomina have not been included. Notes: Notes: Dies lustricus In ancient Rome

2580-430: The most regular are given in this table. The abbreviations are usually the same as for the corresponding masculine praenomina; where variation exists, only the most common abbreviation has been provided. A few of these names were normally written in full, or have not been found with regular abbreviations. Notes: Philologists have debated the origin and meaning of these names since classical antiquity. However, many of

2640-412: 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. Many families avoided certain names, although the reasons varied. According to legend, the Junii avoided the names Titus and Tiberius because they were the names of two sons of Lucius Junius Brutus , the founder of the Republic, who were executed on

2700-399: The nomen or cognomen; if there were more than two, the eldest might be called Maxima , and the younger sisters assigned numerical cognomina. Many of the cognomina used by women originated as praenomina, and for much of Roman history there seems to have been a fashion for "inverting" women's praenomina and cognomina; names that were traditionally regarded as praenomina were often placed after

2760-434: The numbers five through ten: Quintilis (July), Sextilis (August), September, October, November, and December. However, this hypothesis is nuanced, requiring that the feminine praenomina Prima, Secunda, Tertia, and Quarta be explained by birth order and that Septimus, Octavius, and perhaps Nonus fell into disuse as praenomina over time, whilst continuing as gentilician names. Several other praenomina were believed to refer to

2820-428: The original system survived, and many of the original praenomina have continued into modern times. Most common praenomina were regularly abbreviated in writing (in speech the full name would always be used). Although some names could be abbreviated multiple ways, the following tables include only the most usual abbreviation, if any, for each name. These abbreviations continue to be used by classical scholars. Each of

2880-617: The reason why certain praenomina were preferred and others avoided probably arose from the desire to pass on family names. Several names were used by only a few patrician families, although they were more widespread amongst the plebeians. For example: Appius was used only by the Claudii, Caeso by the Fabii and the Quinctii, Agrippa by the Furii and the Menenii, Numerius by the Fabii, Mamercus by

2940-443: The same origin) borrowed praenomina from one another, and to what extent they shared names based on roots common to each language. It is impossible to provide a complete list of Oscan praenomina, but these names are clearly identifiable in extant histories and inscriptions. Abbreviations do exist for some of them, but they were less regular, and less regularly employed, than the Latin abbreviations. Notes: The Etruscan language

3000-401: The same root as gaudere , "to rejoice"; Gnaeus refers to a birthmark; Marcus and Mamercus refer to the gods Mars and Mamers (perhaps an Oscan manifestation of Mars); Paullus means "small"; Servius appears to be derived from the same root as servare , to save or "to keep safe"; Volusus (also found as Volesus and Volero) seems to come from valere , "to be strong". One popular etymology that

3060-426: The second century, 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. Under the empire, confusion seems to have developed as to precisely what constituted a praenomen and how it should be used. A number of emperors considered Imperator as a praenomen, and thus part of their names. As

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3120-412: The seventh day, the baby was regarded as "more like a plant than an animal," as Plutarch expresses it. The ceremony of the dies lustricus was thus postponed until the last tangible connection to the mother's body was dissolved and the child was seen "as no longer forming part of the mother, and in this way as possessing an independent existence which justified its receiving a name of its own and therefore

3180-400: The word nomen came to be applied to these surnames, and the original personal name came to be called the praenomen, or "forename", as it was usually recited first. Cognomen came to refer to any other personal or hereditary surnames coming after the family name, and used to distinguish individuals or branches of large families from one another. As the tria nomina developed throughout Italy,

3240-429: Was a gens with the apparently patronymic name of Nonius, although no examples of its use as a praenomen have survived. It has historically been held that these names originally referred to the order of a child's birth, but some scholars have argued that they in fact referred to the month of the Roman calendar in which a child was born. Like the masculine praenomina, the months of the old Roman Calendar had names based on

3300-432: Was in use. During that same period, the sample consists almost entirely of Roman men belonging to the leading patrician families. Many of the names which were uncommon amongst the patricians appear to have been more widespread amongst the plebeians, and the appearance of rare names in Latin inscriptions outside of Rome suggests that many names which were uncommon at Rome were much more common in other parts of Latium. In

3360-516: Was less likely to receive a praenomen than her younger sisters, and because it was usually easy to distinguish between two daughters without using praenomina, the need for traditional personal names did not become acute until there were at least three sisters in a family. Tertia and Quarta were common praenomina, while Secunda was less common, and Prima rarer still. Maxima, Maio , and Mino were also used as praenomina, although it may be debated whether they represent true personal names. Paulla

3420-473: Was probably given to younger daughters, and was one of the most common praenomina. Most other women's praenomina were simply the feminine forms of familiar masculine praenomina. Examples are known of all common praenomina, as well as a number of less-common ones. Only in the case of praenomina which had irregular masculine forms is there some uncertainty; but these probably became feminine by taking diminutive forms. Caesula or Caesilla appears to have been

3480-434: Was sufficient to distinguish a Roman woman from her father and brothers. Roman women did not change their names when they married, so a Roman wife usually did not share her nomen with any other members of her family. Diminutives, nicknames, and personal cognomina could be used to differentiate between sisters. When there were two sisters, they were frequently referred to as Major and Minor , with these terms appearing after

3540-621: Was the name of an old patrician family of the Sulpicia gens, which probably derived its name from the ancient town of Cameria or Camerium, in Latium . Many of them bore the agnomen Cornutus , from a Latin adjective meaning "horned". The Camerini frequently held the highest offices in the state in the early times of the Republic; but after 345 BC, when Servius Sulpicius Camerinus Rufus was consul, we do not hear of them again for upwards of three hundred years, till Quintus Sulpicius Camerinus obtained

3600-540: Was unrelated to the other languages spoken in Italy, and accordingly it contains many names which have no equivalents in the Latin or Oscan languages. The Etruscan civilization , the most advanced of its time in that region, was a strong influence on the other peoples of Italy. The Etruscan alphabet (itself based on an early version of the Western or "Red" Greek alphabet ) was the source for later Italian alphabets, including

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