Roman Names

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Roman Names
Lucius Furius Macer Mr. Ws chosen Roman name.
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Tria Nomina

• By late Republic most Roman names had 3 parts
  ("tria nomina") Ex. Gaius Iulius Caesar
• Gaius is a praenomen ("given name)
• Iulius is a nomen ("clan name)
• Caesar is a cognomen ("family name within a clan)

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Praenomen

• A praenomen
• First part of a Roman name
• Personal name which distinguishes an individual
  from other members of the same family.
• Only about 18 were given out to 99 of Roman
  Citizens
• Not normally used on its own, and only close
  relatives or very close friends would call each
  other by their praenomen.
• So, you wouldnt call Gaius Iulius Caesar Gaius
  unless you were a brother, sister, or close
  buddyand chances are, you wouldnt be.

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Nomen

• A nomen indicates which clan a Roman belongs to.
• A clan is a loose collection of families sharing
  the same nomen. It is the middle part of the tria
  nomina
• In ancient times a new citizen would almost
  always join an existing clan, often taking the
  nomen of their patron, or person they owe their
  citizenship too.

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Cognomen

• Cognomen began as a nickname or personal name
  that distinguished individuals within the same
  clan
• During the Roman Republic became a family name
  inherited from father to son, serving to
  distinguish a family within a clan.
• Often it was chosen based on some physical or
  personality trait

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Most common Praenomina
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Sample Cognomen
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Cool links

• Most info for the slides were taken from these
  links, feel free to explore!
• http//www.novaroma.org/wiki/Choosing_a_Roman_name
  Nomen
• http//heraldry.sca.org/laurel/names/roman/
• http//www.vroma.org/bmcmanus/roman_names.html