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The Roman Naming System

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What’s in a Name?

• Regal and Republican Periods• 99% of Roman Males share the same 17 names

• Only singular names were in use• First born males always named after father• Only names sanctioned by family could be used

The Legendary Romulus and Remus The Rape of

Lucretia The Servian Wall

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The Roman Naming System

• Mid-Republic, the Romans developed a naming system that required all males to have two names

PRAENOMEN

NOMEN COGNOMEN AGNOMEN

• There are four components to the Roman Naming System

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Praenomen

• A male’s first name

• Chosen from a list of 17 personal names

• Included names such as Lucius, Marcus, and Gaius

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Nomen

• Clan or gens • Wider family name• Identified the group of

families to which a person belonged

• Outside family unit, men were addressed by both names

• Example: Julius derives from the clan name Julian

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Cognomen

• Surname• Often descriptive

• Nickname directly related to physical appearance

• Name used to indicate a specific family within a clan

• Sons inherited father’s cognomen

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Agnomen

• Similar to the cognomen• Used to commemorate

prestigious deeds and achievements• Victory titles

• Could have more than one

• Sons also inherited father’s agnomen

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Naming System and Social Structure

• Names were used as symbols of social status

• Naming practices varied for different groups• Men

• Aristocratic elites • Commoners

• Women• Slaves• Freedmen

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Roman Men• Aristocratic Elite

• Cognomens and agnomens reserved for elites

• Distinguished themselves from the commons and other aristocratic families

• Commoners• Were given a praenomen and a

nomen• Adopted Males

• Adoption common in Rome• Adopted son/grandson took his

adopted father’s praenomen, nomen, and cognomen, adding his former nomen +anus at the end of his new name

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The Importance of the Roman Name

• For the artistocratic elite and those in power a name could be seen as a resume of deeds and achievements

• “My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions, loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife. And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next.”• Gladiator (2000)

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Roman Women

• Until marriage, women only had one name• At birth, women were given the feminine form of their father’s name• All daughters within a family unit had the same name

• Adjectives such as Major/Minor and Elder/Younger were used to indicate birth order

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Roman Slaves

• Slaves could be named in one of several ways• Where they were from

• A slave from Britania was called Britanicus

• The possessive form of their owner’s name

• Caesaris after his owner Caesar

• A personality trait• Felix meaning “the lucky

one”• The work that they did

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Roman Freedmen

• Freedmen took their former owner’s praenomen and nomen

• Freedmen could have a cognomen of their own

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Using the Roman Naming System• Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus

• Praenomen – Publius• Nomen – Cornelius – from the

Cornelia clan• Cognomen – Scipio – indicated

immediate family name• Agnomen – Africanus – given this

name at his Triumph to commemorate his victory over Hannibal at Carthage, North Africa

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Using the Roman Naming System

• Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Pius• Praenomen – Marcus• Nomen – Aurelius – from the

Aurelia clan• Cognomen – Antoninus –

immediate family name of Antonini

• Agnomen – Pius – given this name because of his piety

More information on the Roman Naming System