Education

Roman Names

Roman citizens had three names, the tria nomina. The first name was the praenomen, the name of the clan (gens) was the nomen, and the family nickname was the cognomen.

Romans were addressed by one name in informal situations. Close friends would call each other by their nomen or cognomen alone, but the praenomen was usually reserved for family members when they addressed one another.

In more formal situtations, such a sentorial meeting, a Roman would be called by two names: the praenomen and nomen, and sometimes just by the cognomen alone. Either of these modes were often used when senators addressed one another formally.

Roman women, even those from wealthy families, typically did not use a praenomen at all, but rather only a nomen and cognomen (see below). Women typically inherited their father's nomen which they commonly were addressed by.

Slaves were addressed by their own names, from wheresoever they came. If a slave became a freedman (libertus), he then took his master's praenomen and nomen, but created a cognomen using his own name.

Praenomina

There are hundreds of praenomina known, but there were only around 17 or so praenomina commonly used by the Roman upper class. Here is a list of the praenomina with their abbreviations:

Nomina

The Nomen is the name of the gens or family name. This was the considered the most important name for a Roman and was comparable to our modern surname. The names Cornelius, Claudius, and Julius are examples of Roman nomina. Nomina were patrilineal; they were passed from fathers to sons and often daughters. Women often took as their nomen the feminine form of the father's nomen, e.g. Cornelius' daughter is Cornelia. Since women did not typically have a praenomen, their nomen served that function.

To create a nomen for yourself follow the following examples. Michael Foster might become Marcus Fosterus. Ann Foster would be simply Fostera. Peter Corso could be Publius Corso but his sister would be simply Corsina. If you have a name that translates easily into Latin then by all means use it. Wolf for instance would be Lupus or Lupa.

Cognomina

Cognomina were surnames that some adopted. They were passed down through the descendents and are thought to have originated as nicknames, but eventually were employed to note a further distinction with a clan (gens). Though uncommon, a family could have more than one cognomen. There were various methods for acquiring a cognomen:

1. Often described the first man whom received this name; the name was then passed down the family line. Marcus Tullius Cicero of oratorical fame has Marcus as his praenomen, Tullius as the nomen or clan name and Cicero as a cognomen. At some time in his family the cognomen which means ‘chickpea’ was added. Why? Were his ancestors farmers? We do not know why the cognomen but we do know that his opponents did not refrain from using his name for ridicule so as to try to lessen the impact his oratorical skills had on listeners.
2. It could designate a branch of a family. e.g. Aemilii Paulii v. Aemilii Lepidi. Both were of the Aemilian glan. Paulius and Lepidus were both members of this clan. They and their descendents could identify the branch of their individual families. It is a bit like saying that my dad was from the Meriden side of his family whereas my cousin was from the New Haven branch.
3. The cognomen could be an honorific, designating an achievement by one man which all his descendents would proudly (usually) carry. An example is Africanus, earned by Scipo when he defeated Hannibal at the battle of Zama in 202 B.C.E.
4. When a man was adopted, his praenomen and cognomen were dismissed and his own nomen often became a cognomen, trailing the name of the family into which he was adopted. The best example of this is found with the emperor Augustus. Prior to his adoption by Gaius Julius Caesar, his name was Gaius Octavius Thurinus. After his adoption, he was called Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus.

Pick out a cognomen for yourself from the following list OR use the Latin dictionary to find a word you prefer. See if you can describe yourself in some manner. Remember that the name will be passed on to future generations so don’t saddle yourself with a ‘Cicero".

Tuum Cognomen Romanum

Now make a Roman name for yourself using the adjectives below as your cognomen.

Send your new name to KET together with your present name please.

Mores ^