For fourteen centuries, the Romans and other peoples of Italy used a system of names that differed from those used by other cultures of Europe and the Mediterranean, consisting of a combination of personal and generic names. The traditional Roman system of three names (lat. tria nomina) combines prenomen (lat. Praenomen), nomen (lat. Nomen) and cognomen (lat. Cognomen), which have come to be regarded as the main elements of the Roman name. In fact, the system of Roman names has been a continuous process of development since at least the 7th century BC. e. until the end of the 7th century AD. Names, developing within this system, became a defining characteristic of Roman civilization, and although the system itself disappeared during the early Middle Ages, the names of this system had a huge impact on the development of European naming practice, and many of them continue to live in modern languages.

Roman names

lat. Romani nomina

A distinctive feature of Roman names was the use of personal names and permanent surnames. Throughout Europe and the Mediterranean, other ancient civilizations distinguished a person through the use of individual personal names. Consisting of two separate elements, these names allowed for hundreds or even thousands of possible combinations. A completely different system of names arose in Italy, where a hereditary surname joined the personal name. Over time, this binomial system expanded to include additional names and designations.

The most important of these names was nomen gentilicium, or simply nomen, an ancestral surname that identified a person as a member of a particular genus. This was preceded praenomen, or Name, a personal name that served to distinguish between different members of the genus. The origin of this binary system is lost in prehistoric times, but the system appears to have been created in Lazio and Etruria around 650 BC. e. In writing, the nomen was usually accompanied by descent, indicating the personal name of the individual's father, and sometimes the name of the mother or other predecessors. By the end of the Roman Republic, this was accompanied by the name of the electoral tribe (lat. tribe) of the citizen. Finally, these elements could be followed by additional surnames, or cognomina, which could be either personal or hereditary, or a combination of both.

Roman philologists began to view the combination of prenomen, nomen, and cognomen as the defining feature of Roman citizenship, known as tria nomina. But although all three elements of a Roman name existed throughout most of Roman history, the concept tria nomina can be misleading because not all of these names were needed or used throughout Roman history. During the period of the Roman Republic, the prenomen and nomen represented the basic elements of the name; The cognomen first appeared among the Roman aristocracy at the beginning of the Republic, but was not widely used until the second century BC among the plebeians, who made up the majority of the Roman people. But even then, not all Roman citizens wore a cognomen, and until the end of the Republic, the cognomen was considered somewhat less than the official name. In contrast, in imperial times the cognomen became the main distinguishing element of the Roman name, and although the prenomen never completely disappeared, the main elements of the Roman name from the 2nd century onwards were the nomen and the cognomen.

Women's names also differed from the classical concept tria nomina. Initially, the binomial system of male names was used for Roman women; but over time the prenomen became less useful as a distinguishing element, and female prenomens were gradually abandoned or replaced by informal names. By the end of the Republic, most Roman women either did not have or did not use the praenomen. Most women were referred to by their nomen alone or by a combination of nomen and cognomen. Praenomen were still given when needed, and as with the male prenomen the practice survived well into imperial times, but the proliferation of personal cognomens eventually made the use of feminine prenomens obsolete.

In the later empire, members of the Roman aristocracy used several different patterns of application and succession to the nomen and cognomen, both to indicate their rank and indicate their family and social ties. Some Romans became known by alternative names, and the full names of most Romans, even among the aristocracy, were rarely recorded.

Thus, although the three types of names referred to as tria nomina, existed throughout Roman history, the period during which the majority of citizens had exactly three names was relatively short. However, since most important persons in the best recorded periods of Roman history had all three names, then tria nomina remains the best-known concept of a Roman name.

For a number of reasons, the Roman naming system collapsed some time after the collapse of imperial power in the west. The praenomen had already become deficient in written records in the 4th century, and by the 5th century it was retained only by the most conservative parts of the old Roman aristocracy. As Roman institutions and social structures gradually disappeared during the 6th century, the need to distinguish between nomen and cognomen also disappeared. By the end of the seventh century, the populations of Italy and Western Europe had returned to separate names. But many of the names that originated within tria nomina have been adapted for use and have survived into modern times.

The three types of names that came to be seen as typically Roman were the prenomen, the nomen, and the cognomen. In their unity they were called tria nomina. Although not all Romans had three names, the practice of using multiple names with different functions was a hallmark of Roman culture that distinguished citizens from foreigners.

The system of Roman names distinguishes between male and female names of Roman citizens, the names of slaves and the names of freedmen.

Names of Roman citizens

Male names

In the classical period, a full Roman male name usually consisted of three components:

— prenomena - personal name

— nomena - family name

— cognomen (cognomen) - an individual nickname or genus name.

Sometimes a second or third cognomen was added, which was called agnomen. The nomen and later the cognomen were essentially always hereditary. Such a system originated from the Etruscan civilization.

Praenomenon

The personal name was similar to the modern male name. It was the only part of the name where the parents had at least some choice. This name was given to the boy on the day of his lustration (from Latin lustratio - purification through sacrifice). As a rule, only family members called the boy his prenomen. Women, according to Roman custom, did not have a prenomen.

The Romans used a small number of prenomens out of a total of 72 names. Approximately 98% of all male Roman names were 18 most important prenomens, of which the most popular - Lucius, Gaius, Mark - accounted for 59%. As a rule, prenomens were of such an ancient origin that in the classical era the meaning of most of them was forgotten. In the inscriptions, personal names were almost always written in abbreviated form (1-3 letters).

The boy received a personal name on the eighth or ninth day after birth. There was a tradition to give a personal name only to the four eldest sons, and the rest of the personal name could be ordinal numbers: Quintus (fifth) Sextus (sixth), Septimus (seventh), Octavius ​​(eighth), and Decimus (tenth). Over time, these names became common (that is, they became personal), and as a result, a person bearing the name Sextus does not have to be the sixth son in the family. An example is the commander Sexta Pompey , second son of a member of the first triumvirate Gnaeus Pompey the Great .

Often the eldest son received the father's prenomen. In 230 BC. e. this tradition was enshrined by a decree of the senate, so the personal name of the father began, as a rule, to pass to the eldest son. For example, the emperor Octavian Augusta was, like his great-great-grandfather, great-grandfather, grandfather and father, the name Guy .

Common Roman Personal Names

Other personal names were rarely used and were usually written in full:

Agrippa - "born feet first".

Aruns (Aruns), Vel (Vel), Lar (Lar), - Etruscan origin.

Vopisk (Vopiscus), Druz (Drusus) - were used only in the patrician family Claudius .

Decius (Decius) - associated with the patrician family Minucia .

Camillus - used only in the patrician family branch Fury who joined the family Arruntsiev . More commonly known as the cognomen.

Marius (Marius) - possibly comes from the Roman god Mars (Mars).

Marcel (Marcellus) - comes from the Celtic "having a fatal blow." More commonly known as the cognomen.

Mettius ("Mettius") - from the Etruscan Metie.

Non (Nonus) - "ninth", Octavian (Octavianus) - "eighth", Primus (Primus) - "first", Secundus - "second", Septimus (Septimus) - "seventh", Tertius (Tertius) - "third",

Opiter (Opiter) - associated with the patrician family Verginiev .

Postumus - "born after the death of his father."

Faustus - "happy", archaic prenomen, revived by the dictator Sulla for his twin children and used by his descendants. An uncommon prefix.

Flavius ​​(Flavius) - from flavus (gold), imperial prenomen after the III century. Reached the 8th century. n. e.

Celius (Caelus) - from the Etruscan Caele.

Erius (Herius) - used in the plebeian family Asiniev .

Amulius (Amulius), Ankh (Ancus), Annius (Annius), Atta (Atta), Vibius (Vibius), Voleron (Volero), Volus (Volusus), Denter (Denter), Eppius (Eppius), Koss (Cossus), Messiah (Mesius), Minatius (Minatius), Minius (Minius), Nero (Nero), Novy (Novius), Numa (Numa), Oviy (Ovius), Opia (Opiavus), Ospolis (Hospolis), Ost (Hostus), Pavel (Paullus), Pacvius (Pacvius, Paquius), Pescenius or Percenius (Pescennius, Percennius), Peter (Petro), Plank (Plancus), Plautus (Plautus), Pomp (Pompo), Popidius (Popidius), Potitus (Potitus) , Prok (y) l (Proc (u) lus), Ret (Retus), Salvius (Salvius), Servius (Servius), Sertor (Sertor), Sisenna (Sisenna), Statius (Statius), Tire (Tirrus), Trebius (Trebius), Tullius (Tullus), Tur (Turus), Fertor (Fertor).

personal name Pupus(boy) was used only in relation to children.

In some genera, a limited number of personal names were used. For example, at Korneliev Scipionov there were only Gnaeus, Lucius and Publius, Claudius Neronov - only Tiberius and Decimus, Domitsiev Ahenobarbov - only Gnaeus and Lucius.

The personal name of the criminal could be forever excluded from the genus to which he belonged; for this reason in the patrician family Claudius the name Lucius was not used, but in the patrician family Manliev - the name is Mark. By decree of the Senate, the name Mark was permanently excluded from the family. Antoniev after the fall of the triumvir Mark Antony .

Nomen

The family name was the name of the genus and corresponded, approximately, to the modern surname. It was indicated in the form of a masculine adjective and ended in the classical era with -ius: Tullius - Tullius (from the genus Tulliev ), Julius - Julius (from the genus Yuliev ); in republican time there are also endings -is, -i. Generic names of non-Roman origin had different endings from those indicated.

Origins and suffixes of generic names:

In inscriptions, generic names are usually written in full; in imperial times, only the names of very famous genera were abbreviated: Aelius - Ael., Antonius - Ant. or Anton., Aurelius - Avr., Claudius - Cl. or Clavd., Flavius ​​- Fl. or Fla., Julius - I. or Ivl., Pompeius - Pomp., Valerius - Val., Ulpius - Vlp.

The total number of generic names, by Varro reached a thousand. Most generic names are of such ancient origin that their meaning has been forgotten. Only a few have definite meaning: Asinius from asinus (donkey), Caelius from caecus (blind), Caninius from canis (dog), Decius from decem (ten), Fabius from faba (bean), Nonius from nonus (ninth), Octavius ​​from octavus (eighth), Ovidius from ovis (sheep), Porcius from porca (pig), Septimius from septimus (seventh), Sextius and Sextilius from sextus (sixth), Suillius from suilla (pork).

From the 1st century BC e., when the prerequisites for the transition from a republican form of government to autocracy appeared in Rome, the persons who seized the supreme power began to justify their rights to power by descent from ancient kings and heroes. Julius Caesar, for example, pointed out that his paternal family goes back to the gods: Jupiter - Venus - Aeneas - Yul - family Yuliev , and by mother to kings: from Anka Marcia happened Marcia Rex (lat. rex - king).

cognomen

An individual nickname once given to one of the representatives of the genus often passed on to descendants and became the name of the family or a separate branch of the genus: Cicero - Cicero, Caesar - Caesar. For example, to the genus Korneliev family owned Scipio , Rufinov , Lentulov etc. The presence of a cognomen is not necessary in some plebeian clans (among Mariev , Antoniev , Octaviev , Sertoriev etc.) personal nicknames, as a rule, were absent. However, the absence of a cognomen was an exception to the rule, since many of the genera of Rome were of such ancient origin that each of them consisted of several branches.

Since the personal name of the father passed to the eldest son, in order to distinguish the son from the father, it was necessary to use a third name. In the inscriptions there are Lucius Sergius I , Quintus Aemilius II ; in one inscription grandfather, son and grandson are named Quintus Fulvius Rusticus , Quintus Fulvius Attian And Quintus Fulvius Carisianus .

Cognomens arose much later than personal and generic names, so their meaning is clear in most cases. They may say:

- about the origin of the genus ( fufii moved to Rome from the Campanian town of Cales and therefore had the cognomen Calenus),

- about memorable events (in the plebeian family Muciev the cognomen Scaevola (left-handed) appeared after in 508 BC. e. during the war with the Etruscans Gaius Mucius burned his hand on the fire of the brazier, which caused the enemies and their king to tremble Porsenna ),

- about the appearance or special signs of their first owners (Paullus - short, Rufus - red, Strabo - cross-eyed, Habitus - plump, Ahenobarbus - red-bearded, Crassus - fat, Rutilus - red, Massa - lump, Crispus - curly, Arvina - fat, Pilosus - hairy, Laetus - obese, Calvus - bald, Macer - thin, Ravilla - yellow-eyed, Celsus - tall, Paetus - slyly looking, Luscus - one-eyed, Longus - long; Strabo - cross-eyed, Capito - big-headed, Nasica - sharp-nosed, Dentatus - toothy, Naso - nosy, Flaccus - lop-eared, Silus - snub-nosed, Balbus - stutterer, Blaesus - lisping, Pansa - with wide feet, Scaurus - clubfoot, Varus - bow-legged, Dives - rich, Carus - expensive, Nobilior - very noble and etc.),

- about character (Severus - cruel, Probus - honest, Lucro - glutton, Pulcher - beautiful, Lepidus - graceful, Nero - brave, etc.).

Agnomen

There were cases when one person had two nicknames, the second of which was called agnomen (Latin agnomen). The appearance of the agnomen is partly due to the fact that the eldest son often inherited all three of his father's names, and thus there were several people with the same names in the same family. For example, the famous orator Mark Tullius Cicero had the same name for his father and son.

Agnomen was most often a personal nickname in the event that the cognomen was hereditary. Sometimes a Roman received an agnomen for some special merit. Publius Cornelius Scipio in honor of his victory over Hannibal in Africa in 202 BC. e., began to be called solemnly African (lat. Africanus). Lucius Aemilius Paul received the nickname Macedonian (lat. Macedonicus) for the victory over the Macedonian king Perseus in 168 BC e. dictator Lucius Cornelius Sulla he himself added the agnomen Felix (lat. Felix - happy) to his name, so that his full name became Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix . Agnomen Felix from a personal nickname then turned into a hereditary one (consul 52 AD. Faustus Cornelius Sulla Felix (Faustus Cornelius Sulla Felix)).

As a rule, members of ancient and noble families had agnomen, numbering many branches and cognomens. In such genera, the cognomen sometimes almost merged with the generic name and was used inseparably with it for the name of the genus. Known plebeian family Caecilians (Caecilii) had the ancient cognomen Metellus, the meaning of which is forgotten (liberated mercenary). This cognomen, as it were, merged with the name of the genus, which began to be called Caecilia Metella . Naturally, almost all members of this genus had an agnomen.

Many branches had a patrician family Korneliev . One of the members of this family was nicknamed Scipio (lat. scipio - rod, stick), because he was the guide of his blind father and served him, as it were, instead of a staff. The cognomen of Scipio stuck to his descendants, over time Cornelia Scipio took a prominent place in their family and received agnomens. In the III century BC. e. Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio received the agnomen Asina (donkey) for bringing a donkey loaded with gold as a pledge to the Forum. The nickname Asina passed to his son. Publius (Publius Cornelius Scipio Asina). Another representative Korneliev Scipionov received the nickname Nasica (sharp-nosed), which passed to his descendants and began to serve as the name of a branch of the genus, so that in the genus Korneliev from the branch of the Scipios stood out Scipio Naziki . It is natural that Scipio Naziki as an individual nickname, they received the third cognomen, so that the full name could already consist of five names: Publius Cornelius Scipio Nazica Serapion (Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Serapio), consul 138 BC e.; the nickname Serapio (from the Egyptian god Serapis) was given to him by the people's tribune Curiatius for his resemblance to a dealer in sacrificial animals.

Some people had two generic names, it turned out as a result of adoption. According to Roman customs, the adopted person took the personal name, family name and cognomen of the one who adopted him, and kept his family name in a modified form with the suffix -an-, which took the place of the agnomen. Gaius Octavius , future emperor August after adopting him Gaius Julius Caesar got a name Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian (Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus).

Women's names

In late republican and imperial times, women did not have personal names, the female name was the female form of the generic name: Tullia - Tullia (from the genus Tulliev e.g. daughter Mark of Tullius Cicero ), Julia - Julia (from the genus Yuliev e.g. daughter Gaius Julius Caesar ), Cornelia - Cornelia (from the genus Korneliev e.g. daughter Publius Cornelius Scipio ). Since all women in the same clan had a single name, they differed in age within the clan. When another daughter appeared in the family, a prenomen was added to the name of both: Minor (younger) and Major (older); other sisters were called Secunda (second), Tertia (third), Quinta (fifth), etc.; the prenomen Minor was in the youngest.

A married woman kept her name, but her husband's cognomen was added to it: Cornelia, filia Cornelii, Gracchi - Cornelia, daughter of Cornelia, (wife) Gracchus.

Noble women could wear, in addition to the generic name, the cognomen of their father; e.g. wife Sulla was the daughter Lucius Caecilia Metella Dalmatica and was called Caecilia Metella , the emperor's wife august was the daughter Brand of Livius Drusus Claudian and was called Livia Drusilla .

In the inscriptions with the names of women, the prenomen and cognomen of the father are sometimes indicated, as well as the cognomen of the husband in the clan. case: Caeciliae, Q (uinti) Cretici f (iliae), Metellae, Crassi (uxori) - Cecilia Metelle, daughter of Quintus Creticus, (wife) Crassus. From the inscription it follows that this woman was the daughter Quinta Caecilius Metella Cretica and wife Crassus . The inscription was made on a large round mausoleum near Rome on the Appian Way, in which Caecilia Metella , daughter of the consul 69 BC. e., wife Crassus , presumably the eldest son of the triumvir Mark of Licinius Crassus .

Slave names

In ancient times, slaves did not have individual names. Legally, slaves were considered not a subject, but an object of law, that is, they were the master's thing and were just as deprived of rights as all members of the family. This is how archaic slave names were formed, made up of the personal name of the master, the father of the surname, and the word puer (boy, son): Gaipor, Lucipor, Marcipor, Publipor, Quintipor, Naepor (Gnaeus + puer), Olipor (Olos - an archaic form of the personal name Aulus ).

With the development of slavery, the need arose for personal names for slaves. Most often, slaves kept the name they wore when they still lived as free people. Very often, Roman slaves had names of Greek origin: Alexander, Antigonus, Hippocrates, Diadumen, Museum, Felodespot, Philokal, Philonik, Eros, and others. Greek names were sometimes given to barbarian slaves.

The name of the slave could indicate his origin or place of birth: Dacus - Dacian, Corinthus - Corinthian, Sir (native of Syria), Gallus (native of Gaul), Frix (from Phrygia); found in the inscriptions slaves with the name Peregrinus - a foreigner.

Slaves were also given the names of mythical heroes: Achilles, Hector; names of plants or stones: Adamant, Sardonic, etc. Instead of a name, a slave could have the nickname “First”, “Second”, “Third”.

It is known that the slave share in Rome was very difficult, but this did not affect the names of the slaves, who do not have mocking nicknames. On the contrary, the names Felix and Faustus (happy) occur among slaves. Obviously, these nicknames, which became the name, were received only by those slaves whose life was relatively successful. The inscriptions mention: Faust, the baker Tiberius Germanicus , and Faust, head of his master's perfume shop Popilius , Felix, who was in charge of jewelry Gaius Caesar , another Felix, steward of the domain Tiberius Caesar , and another Felix, an overseer in the wool weaving workshops Messalina ; the daughters of a slave from the house of the Caesars were called Fortunata and Felicia.

The name Ingenus or Ingenuus (freeborn) is often found among slaves. Slaves born into slavery have the names Vitalio and Vitalis (tenacious).

There were no firm rules regarding the names of slaves. Therefore, when buying a slave in an official document, his name was accompanied by a clause “or whatever name he may be called” (lat. sive is quo alio nomine est).

In the inscriptions after the name of the slave, the name of the master in the genitive case and the nature of the slave's occupation are indicated. After the name of the master is the word servus (slave) is always abbreviated ser, very rarely s, it can also stand between two cognomens of the master; there is no strict word order. The word "slave" is often absent altogether; as a rule, slaves belonging to women do not have it. For example, Euticus, Aug (usti) ser (vus), pictor - Euticus, slave august (imperial slave), painter; Eros, cocus Posidippi, ser (vus) - Eros, cook Posidipp , slave; Idaeus, Valeriae Messalin (ae) supra argentum - Ideas, treasurer Valeria Messalina .

The sold slave retained the generic name or cognomen of his former master in a modified form with the suffix -an-: Philargyrus librarius Catullianus - Philargyrus, a scribe bought from Catullus .

Freedmen's names

A freedman (that is, a slave who received freedom) acquired the personal and generic names of the former master, who became his patron, and retained his former name as a cognomen. Yes, secretary. Cicero Tiron, freed from slavery, was called: M. Tullius M. libertus Tiro - Mark Thulius, the scapegoat of Mark Tiron. A slave named Apella set free Mark Manney Prim , became known as Mark Manney Apella. Slave Bassa released Lucius Hostilius Pamphilus , received the name Hostilia Bassa (women did not have premen). Lucius Cornelius Sulla set free ten thousand slaves belonging to persons who died during proscriptions; they all became Lucius Cornelii (the famous "army" of ten thousand "Cornelii").

The inscriptions often contain the names of imperial freedmen: a baker Gaius Julius Eros , theater costume tailor Tiberius Claudius Dipter in charge of the emperor's triumphal white robes Mark Koktsei Ambrosius in charge of the emperor's hunting clothes Mark Ulpius Euphrosynus in charge of receiving the emperor's friends Marcus Aurelius Succession and etc.

In the inscriptions between the nomen and the cognomen of the freedman, the personal name of the master is abbreviated and stands l or lib (= libertus), very rarely the tribe is indicated: Q (uintus) Serto, Q (uinti) l (ibertus), Antiochus, colonus pauper - Quintus Sertorius Antiochus , Quintus' freedman, poor colonel. In rare cases, instead of the personal name of the former master, there is his cognomen: L (ucius) Nerfinius, Potiti l (ibertus), Primus, lardarius - Lucius Nerfinius Primus, the freedman of Potitas, the sausage maker. The freedmen of the imperial house are abbreviated in the inscriptions Avg l (Avg lib), i.e. Augusti libertus (after the generic name or after the cognomen): L (ucio) Aurelio, Aug (usti) lib (erto), Pyladi, pantomimo temporis sui primo - Lucius Aurelius Pylades, imperial freedman, the first pantomime of his time.

Freedmen with two cognomens are rare: P (ublius) Decimius, P (ublii) l (ibertus), Eros Merula, medicus clinicus, chirurgus, ocularius - Publius Decimius Eros Merula, freedman of Publius, general practitioner, surgeon, oculist.

Freedmen of women in the inscriptions are abbreviated? L (inverted C is a remnant of the archaic female personal name Gaia): L (ucius) Crassicius, ? (= mulieris) l (ibertus), Hermia, medicus veterinarius - Lucius Crassicius Hermia, woman's freedman, veterinarian.

The freedmen of the cities received the name Publicius (from publicus - public) or the name of the city as a generic name: Aulus Publicius Germanus, Lucius Saepinius Oriens et Lucius Saepinius Orestus - freedmen of the city of Sepin in Italy.

Doctors, servants of the deity Aesculapius (Greek Asclepius), usually bore his name. For example, Gaius Calpurnius Asclepiades is a doctor from Prusa near Olympus, who received Roman citizenship from Emperor Trajan. However, the name Asclepius, or Asklepiad, did not always belong to the doctor: in one inscription there is Asclepiades, Caesar's slave, a marble worker.

Freedmen of corporations retained their names in their names: the freedmen of the corporation of patchworkers and tailors (fabri centonarii) were called Fabricii and Centonii.

Provincial names

With the development of Roman expansion outside the Apennine peninsula, foreign names were introduced. Freed soldiers of the foreign Roman legions and all others who received Roman citizenship could (and many did) continue to use, at least in part, their old names. Most of them were of Greek origin, while others came from regions that were under Roman influence. Foreign soldiers of the active army who were granted citizenship often assumed their emperor's nomen, adding their foreign name as a cognomen.

The new citizens often received in addition the nomen of the reigning emperor. For example, after Caracalla (Marcus Aurelius Septimius Bassianus Antoninus) extended civil rights to all free people in the empire, many of them adopted the nomen Aurelius (in fact, the nomen Caracalla was Septimius. The nomen Aurelius was added with a claim to belonging to the Roman nobility).

Full name example :

MarcusAureliusMarcif.Quintin.tribuGaleriaAntoninusPius,domoCaesaraugusta, which consists of the following elements:

praenomen: Mark

nomen: Aurelius (belongs to the genus Aurelius )

father's name: son Brand

grandfather's name: grandson Quint

tribe: Galeria (a tribe in the Caesaraugusta region in Spain)

cognomen: Antonin (family Antoninov )

agnomen: Pius (probably due to its mildness rarely passed on to offspring)

city: Caesaraugusta (now Zaragoza in Spain)

Another example of a full name:

C (= Gaius) Cornelius, C (= Gaii) f (ilius), Pom (ptina tribu), Dert (ona), Verus.

Gaius Cornelius Ver, son of Gaius, of the Pomptin tribe, originally from Dertona...

In daily communication, a combination of nomen and prenomen, or often just cognomen, was usually used. So, Mark Livius Drusus could just be Druze or Mark Livius. Julia Marciana could just be Julia.

The Romans usually had three names - the given name, patronymic and surname. The first name - praenomen - was personal, like Peter or Mary. There were few such Roman names, there are only eighteen of them. In writing, they were abbreviated with one, two or three letters. Such abbreviations were very common, and therefore one must be able to open them; here are the most common: Appius, Gaius, Gnaeus, Decimus, Lucius, Manius, Mark, Publius, Quintus, Servius, Sextus, Tiberius, Titus, Vopisk.

The second name - nomen (nomen) - was the name of the genus and corresponded, approximately, to our surname.

The third name - cognomen (cognomen) - was a nickname that was assigned to everyone according to some signs: red-haired - Ruf, dodger - Cato, nosy - Nason.

A family or a separate branch of a given genus was distinguished by a cognomen. For example, the Scipio, Rufin, and Lentul families belonged to the Cornelius family.

Sometimes, for some special merit, the Roman received a fourth name or a second nickname - agnomen (agnomen). Publius Cornelius Scipio, in honor of the victory he won over Hannibal in Africa in 202 BC, became solemnly known as African (Africanus, cf. the names of Russian commanders - Alexander Nevsky, Dmitry Donskoy, Suvorov Rymniksky, Potemkin Tauride).

Women's names

Women were called the generic Roman name of the father in the feminine form. The daughter of Publius Cornelius Scipio was called Cornelia, the daughter of Mark Tullius Cicero was Tullia, Gaius Julius Caesar had a daughter, Julia. When another daughter appeared in the family, a prenomen was added to the name of both: Elder (Major) and Younger (Minor), other sisters were called the Third (Tertia), Fifth (Quintilla). A married woman retained her name, but her husband's cognomen was added to it: Cornelia, daughter of Cornelius, (wife) Gracchus (Cornelia, filia Cornelii, Gracchi).

In later republican and imperial times, women did not have personal names, but were called generic names. Since all women in the same clan had a single name, within the clan they differed in age. For example, Iulia Maior (oldest), Iulia Secunda (second), Iulia Tertia (third) and so on until the youngest (Iulia-Minor).

Noble women could bear, in addition to the generic name, the cognomen of their father; for example, Sulla's wife was the daughter of Lucius Caecilius Metellus Dalmatica and was called Caecilia Metella, the wife of Emperor Augustus was the daughter of Mark Livius Drusus Claudian and was called Livia Drusilla.

In the inscriptions with the names of women, the praenomen and cognomen of the father are sometimes indicated, as well as the cognomen of the husband in the genitive case:

Caeciliae, Q(uinti) Cretici f(iliae), Metellae, Crassi (uxori). "Caecilia Metella, daughter of Quintus Creticus, (wife) Crassus."

From the inscription it follows that this woman was the daughter of Quintus Caecilius Metellus Kretikos and the wife of Crassus. The inscription was made on a large round mausoleum near Rome on the Appian Way, in which Caecilia Metella, daughter of the consul of 69 BC, wife of Crassus, presumably the eldest son of the triumvir Marcus Licinius Crassus, is buried.

Slave names

Slaves were named according to their origin: Sir (born in Syria), Gallus (born in Gaul), Frix (from Phrygia); by the names of mythical heroes: Achilles, Hector; by the names of plants or stones: Adamant, Sardonic. Sometimes slaves, often called "boy" (puer), were assigned the name of the owner in the genitive case: Marzipor (from Marcipuer), that is, Mark's slave.

In ancient times, slaves did not have individual names. Legally, slaves were considered children of the master and were just as deprived of rights as all members of the family. This is how archaic slave names were formed, made up of the praenomen of the master, the father of the surname, and the word puer (boy, son): Gaipor, Lucipor, Marcipor, Publipor,. Quintipor, Naepor (Gnaeus = Naeos + puer), Olipor (Olos is an archaic form of praenomen Aulus).

With the growth of slavery, there was a need for personal names for slaves.

Most often, slaves retained the name they bore when they still lived as free people.

Very often, Roman slaves had names of Greek origin: Alexander, Antigonus, Hippocrates, Diadumen, Museum, Felodespot, Philokal, Philonik, Eros, and others. Greek names were sometimes given to barbarian slaves.

The name of the slave could indicate his origin or place of birth: Dacus - Dacian, Corinthus - Corinthian; found in the inscriptions slaves with the name Peregrinus - a foreigner.

Instead of a name, a slave could have the nickname "First", "Second", "Third".

It is known that the slave share in Rome was very difficult, but this did not affect the names of the slaves, who do not have mocking nicknames. On the contrary, the names Felix and Faustus (happy) occur among slaves. Obviously, these nicknames, which became the name, were received only by those slaves whose life was relatively successful. The inscriptions mention: Faust, the baker of Tiberius Germanicus, and Faust, the head of the perfume shop of his master Popilius, Felix, who was in charge of the jewelry of Gaius Caesar, another Felix, the manager of the possessions of Tiberius Caesar, and another Felix, the overseer in the wool-weaving workshops of Messalina; the daughters of a slave from the house of the Caesars were called Fortunata and Felicia.

The name Ingenus or Ingenuus (freeborn) is often found among slaves.

Slaves born into slavery have the names Vitalio and Vitalis (tenacious).

There were no firm rules regarding the names of slaves. Therefore, when buying a slave in an official document, his name was accompanied by the clause “or whatever name he may be called” (sive is quo alio nomine est). For example: “Maxim, the son of Baton, bought a girl named Passia, or whatever other name she was called, about six years old, having received over the contract, he bought ...”.

In the inscriptions after the name of the slave, the name of the master in the genitive case and the nature of the slave's occupation are indicated. After the name of the master is the word servus (slave), always abbreviated SER, very rarely S. The word "slave" is often completely absent; as a rule, slaves belonging to women do not have it. SER can stand between two lord's cognomina; there is no strict word order.

Freedmen (namely, slaves who received freedom) acquired the generic and personal name of the former master, their own name was placed in third place as a cognomen. So, the secretary of Cicero Tyrone, freed from slavery, was called: Mark Thulius, the scapegoat of Mark Tyrone - M Tullius M libertus Tiro). Podosinov A.V., Shchaveleva N.I. Lingua Latina: An introduction to the Latin language and ancient culture.

The Romans usually had three names, as we have - the first name, patronymic and surname.

First name - prenomen (praenomen)- was personal, like Peter or Mary. There were few such names, there are only eighteen of them. In writing, they were abbreviated with one, two or three letters. Such abbreviations were very common, and therefore one must be able to open them; here are the most common: Appius, Gaius, Gnaeus, Decimus, Lucius, Manius, Mark, Publius, Quintus, Servius, Sextus, Tiberius, Titus, Vopisk.

Second name - nomen (nomen)- was the name of the genus and corresponded, approximately, to our surname.

Third name - cognomen (cognomen)- was a nickname that was assigned to everyone according to some signs: red - Ruf, dodger - Cato, nosy - Nason. A family or a separate branch of a given genus was distinguished by a cognomen. For example, the families of Scipio, Rufinus, Lentulus, etc. belonged to the Cornelius family.

Sometimes, for some special merit, the Roman received a fourth name or a second nickname - agnomen (agnomen). Publius Cornelius Scipio, in honor of the victory he won over Hannibal in Africa in 202 BC, became solemnly known as African (Africanus, cf. the names of Russian commanders - Alexander Nevsky, Dmitry Donskoy, Suvorov Rymniksky, Potemkin Tauride). Women were called by the generic name of the father in the feminine form. The daughter of Publius Cornelius Scipio was called Cornelia, the daughter of Mark Tullius Cicero was Tullia, Gaius Julius Caesar had a daughter, Julia. When another daughter appeared in the family, a prenomen was added to the name of both: Elder (Major) and Younger (Minor), other sisters were called Third (Tertia), Fifth (Quintilla), etc.

A married woman retained her name, but her husband's cognomen was added to it: Cornelia, daughter of Cornelius, (wife) Gracchus (Cornelia, filia Cornelii, Gracchi).

Slaves were named after their origin: Sir (native of Syria), Gallus (native of Gaul), Frix (from Phrygia); by the names of mythical heroes: Achilles, Hector; by the names of plants or stones: Adamant, Sardonic, etc. Sometimes slaves, often called "boy" (puer), were assigned the name of the owner in the genitive case: Marzipor (from Marcipuer), that is, Mark's slave.

Freedmen (that is, slaves who received freedom) acquired the generic and personal name of the former master, their own name was placed in third place as a cognomen. So, the secretary of Cicero Tyrone, freed from slavery, was called: Mark Thulius, the scapegoat of Mark Tyrone - M Tullius M libertus Tiro).

Recently, Roman names have become increasingly popular. The fact is that parents are trying to choose the most unusual and original name for their child.

Some of the names that came from the Roman Empire are so ancient that even the most experienced and professional historians cannot decipher them.

Male ancient Roman names

Few people know that the original male Roman name consisted of three parts: personal, generic and individual. There were few variants of personal names: less than a hundred in total and about twenty in common use. The second part of the name was associated with surnames in the modern world. The third could sound like a nickname of a person or, if there was none, like the name of a generic branch.

Prenomen, or personal part

Roman names are of such ancient origin that in the modern world they have practically fallen into disuse and have lost their value. On the letter, abbreviated names were used, as a rule, the first three letters:

• Appius, Lucius, Manius, Numerius, Pablius, Servius, Spurius, Tiberius;
• Aulus, Guy, Mark Quint, Titus;
• Decim, Quezon, Mamerk, Sextus.

An interesting fact is that personal names were assigned only to the first four sons. For the younger ones, numbers from five onwards served as names. The name Sextus (meaning sixth) is a prime example. Over time, the number of children born in the family decreased, but the names remained. So, the second boy could be called Octavius, which should have corresponded to the number eight. But this is after many, many years.

Nomen, or generic part

The title corresponding to the surname was written in the form of an adjective in the masculine gender and was not subject to reduction. The names differed in peculiar endings. In total, there were about a thousand unspoken surnames:

• Tullius, Julius, Ulius, Antonius, Claudius, Flavius, Pompeius, Valerius, Ulpius, Varenus, Alfenus;
• Aquillia, Aternia, Atilia, Verginia, Baloyanni, Veturia, Horace, Genutia, Cassia, Curtia, Marcia, Minucia, Nautia, Rumilia, Servilia, Sergius, Fabia;
• Mafenas, Asprenas, Fulginas;
• Mastarna, Perperna, Sisenna, Tapsenna, Spurinna.

The meaning of some nomens is so old that their meaning has already been lost. But to our time, some surnames have still been preserved, the meaning of which is possible to explain. For example, Azinus is a donkey, Culius is blind, Caninus is a dog, Fabius is a bean, Ovidius is a sheep, Porcius is a pig.

It is noteworthy that closer to our era, the holders of the ranks of supreme power began to take “divine” surnames for themselves, translated into Russian as Venus, Jupiter, Aeneas. Thus, the rulers tried to justify their right to the throne and rank themselves among the relatives of the celestials of Olympus.

Cognomen, or individual nickname

The custom to include a nickname in the full name also appeared later than the tradition of taking notes on the first two parts was born. Therefore, the translations and meanings of the cognomens are more or less clear to the modern reader: Agricola (preacher), Crassus (fat), Lautus (fat), Lentulus (lentil), Maker (thin), Celsus (tall), Paullus (short), Rufus (red ), Strabo (cross-eyed), Nasika (sharp-nosed), Severus (cruel), Probus (honest), Lukro (glutton), Taurus (bull).

Sometimes the Romans resorted to naming an additional fourth component of the name - agnomena. This was due to the fact that often several family members had the same names, and in order to more clearly understand who they were talking about, additional characters were used. More often, this was required by representatives of ancient and noble families with a large number of branches.

Female names of ancient Rome

During the era of the reign of emperors, Roman women did not have the right to assign personal names. They were addressed by the title of the tribal tribe, used in the feminine gender. Julia, that is, the daughter of that same Julius; Claudia means her father Claudius; Cornelia, respectively, descended from the Cornelian family.

Distinguished girls by prenomen. If the whole family has two sisters, then the eldest received the middle name Major, and the youngest - Minor. In large families, quantitative prenomens were used: Secunda (second), Tertia (third), Quinta (fifth) and so on. The last daughter retained the title of Minor.

A married woman kept her name, but the husband's cognomen was added to it. And noble ladies from imperial dynasties and daughters of generals had the exclusive right to wear their father's cognomen.

Special names for slaves

Is it worth talking about the fact that in ancient times slaves were not considered people, had no rights and were equated with the property of the owner. Since a prudent person would not come up with names for a sofa, a table, a dress, the slaves did not need names either. They were addressed by the name of the slave owner with the attached suffix "pur", which means "boy" in Roman. For example, Lutsipur, Matsipur, Publipur, Kvintipur.

Over time, the development of slave ownership began to gain momentum, the number of involuntary grew inexorably. I had to agree that the naming of people deprived of their liberty became a necessary measure. Oddly enough, but the rulers abandoned offensive nicknames for their subordinates. Slaves were given beautiful names of stones, plants, names of mythical heroes (Sardonicus, Adamant, Hector). Sometimes the owners referred to the professional skills of the unfortunate person or the place of his birth. Corinthus (Corfinian), Dacus (Dacian), Piktor (painter). Often, instead of names, just numerals were used.

Today, Roman names are not very popular. This is partly due to the fact that most of them are forgotten, and their meaning is completely unclear. If you delve into history, then at the time of dawn, children and adults were given names throughout their lives, and later they turned into family names. The peculiarity of Roman names is of genuine interest to historians so far.

Name structure

In ancient times, people, just like now, the name consisted of three parts. Only if we are used to calling a person by his last name, first name and patronymic, then the Romans had slightly different features.

The first name in Roman sounded like a prenomen. It was similar to our Petya, Misha. There were very few such names - only eighteen. They were used only for men and were rarely pronounced, in writing they were more often denoted by one or two capital letters. That is, no one wrote them completely. Few meanings of these names have survived to this day. Yes, and Appiev, Gnaeus and Quintes are difficult to find among children these days.

In fact, his name was Octavian, since he was adopted by the great emperor. But, having come to power, he missed the first three parts, and soon added the title of Augustus to his name (as a benefactor of the state).

Augustus Octavian had three daughters, Julia. Having no boy heirs, he had to adopt grandchildren, who were also called Julius Caesars. But since they were only grandchildren, they retained their names given at birth. So, the heirs of Tiberius Julius Caesar and Agripa Julius Caesar are known in history. They became famous under the simple names of Tiberius and Agripa, having founded their own clans. Thus, there is a tendency to a decrease in the name and the disappearance of the need for parts of nomen and coglomen.

It is very easy to get confused in the abundance of generic names. Therefore, Roman names are the most difficult to recognize in the world.

The meaning of Roman (Romano-Byzantine) names

Roman male names and their meaning

Men's: August (sacred), Anton (Roman generic name, in Greek - entering the battle), Valentine (big man), Valery (strong man), Benedict (blessed), Vincent (victorious), Victor (winner), Vitaly (life), Dementius (dedicated to the goddess Damia), Donatus (gift), Ignatus (unknown), Innocent (innocent), Hypatius (high consul), Kapiton (tadpole), Claudius (lame-footed), Clement (indulgent), Constantine (permanent), Kornil ( horned), Laurel (tree), Lawrence (crowned with a laurel wreath), Leonid (lion cub), Leonty (lion), Maxim (largest), Mark (sluggish), Martin (born in March), Modest (modest), Mokey (mockingbird ), Paul (finger), Prov (test), Prokofy (successful), Roman (Roman), Sergei (Roman generic name), Sylvester (forest), Felix (lucky), Frol (blooming), Caesar (royal), Juvenal (youthful), Julius (fidgety, curly), Januarius (gatekeeper).

Roman female names and their meaning

Women's: Aglaya (shine), Agnes (sheep), Akulina (eagle), Alevtina (strong woman), Alina (non-native), Albina (white), Beatrice (lucky), Valentina (strong, healthy), Victoria (goddess of victory), Virginia ( virgin), Diana (goddess of the hunt), Kaleria (alluring), Capitolina (named after one of the seven hills of Rome), Claudia (lamefoot), Clementine (indulgent), Margarita (pearl), Marina (sea), Natalia (née), Regina (queen), Renata (renewed), Ruth (red), Silva (forest).

Our new book "Name Energy"

Oleg and Valentina Svetovid

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Attention!

Sites and blogs have appeared on the Internet that are not our official sites, but use our name. Be careful. Fraudsters use our name, our email addresses for their mailing lists, information from our books and our websites. Using our name, they drag people into various magical forums and deceive (give advice and recommendations that can harm, or lure out money for magical rituals, making amulets and teaching magic).

On our sites, we do not provide links to magical forums or sites of magical healers. We do not participate in any forums. We do not give consultations by phone, we do not have time for this.

Note! We are not engaged in healing and magic, we do not make or sell talismans and amulets. We do not engage in magical and healing practices at all, we have not offered and do not offer such services.

The only direction of our work is correspondence consultations in writing, training through an esoteric club and writing books.

Sometimes people write to us that on some sites they saw information that we allegedly deceived someone - they took money for healing sessions or making amulets. We officially declare that this is slander, not true. In all our lives, we have never deceived anyone. On the pages of our site, in the materials of the club, we always write that you need to be an honest decent person. For us, an honest name is not an empty phrase.

People who write slander about us are guided by the basest motives - envy, greed, they have black souls. The time has come when slander pays well. Now many are ready to sell their homeland for three kopecks, and it is even easier to engage in slandering decent people. People who write slander do not understand that they are seriously worsening their karma, worsening their fate and the fate of their loved ones. It is pointless to talk with such people about conscience, about faith in God. They do not believe in God, because a believer will never make a deal with his conscience, he will never engage in deceit, slander, and fraud.

There are a lot of scammers, pseudo-magicians, charlatans, envious people, people without conscience and honor, hungry for money. The police and other regulatory agencies are not yet able to cope with the increasing influx of "Cheat for profit" insanity.

So please be careful!

Sincerely, Oleg and Valentina Svetovid

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