Roman Names: Praenomen, Nomen and Cognomen

Common praenomina

Romans used only a small stock of personal names, often abbreviated: Gāius (C.), Mārcus (M.), Lūcius (L.), Pūblius (P.), Quīntus (Q.), Tiberius (Ti.). That is why you see M. Tullius Cicero and C. Iūlius Caesar in inscriptions.

What cognomina meant

A cognomen often began as a nickname and became hereditary:

• Cicerō — from cicer, "chickpea"
• Nāsō — "big nose" (the poet Ovid's cognomen)
• Rūfus — "red-haired"

Women's names

Roman women usually had only the feminine form of the family name:

• Iūlia — a woman of the Julian clan
• Cornēlia — of the Cornelii
• Tullia — of the Tullii, Cicero's daughter

Sisters in the same family could share the name and be told apart as Māior (elder) and Minor (younger).

Freed slaves and adoption

• A freed slave took the praenomen and nomen of his former master and kept his old name as a cognomen.
• An adopted son took the adopter's name, sometimes keeping his old clan name in the form -ānus. The emperor Augustus was born Gāius Octāvius and took the name Gāius Iūlius Caesar after being adopted by Julius Caesar.

Names in English

Roman names survive in English: Julius, Augustus, Claudia, Victoria (from victōria, victory), Felix ("lucky"), Vincent (from vincēns, "conquering") and Patrick (from patricius, "of noble birth").

Reading inscriptions

Look for the three parts and the abbreviations. On tombs, D. M. stands for Dīs Mānibus, "to the spirits of the departed".

Tips

1. Learn the three parts.
2. Learn common abbreviations (C., M., L., P.).
3. Use the dictionary to check name meanings.

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