Roman Names - 1

ROMAN NAMES - 1 What’s in a name? Birth in ancient Rome was no guarantee of life. If a child was deformed or female, the father was permitted to allow it to die, a common practice of the early Greeks. Otherwise it was welcomed, for even though Romans of this period practiced some measure of family limitation, they were eager to have sons. Following a very ancient tradition of the Indo-European peoples, families held a solemn ceremony either at home or in a temple nine days after a boy was born (eight days after a girl was born). After the child was “consecrated” or “purified,” a round or heart-shaped lucky charm (bulla) was hung around the child’s neck. The charm would be of gold when the parents were rich—of leather if they were poor. It was supposed to ward off all evil influences. Boys wore this charm until they came of age at around 14-16 years; girls kept it until they were married. This was but one of the supersti- tious customs that the Romans inherited from the Etruscans and always preserved. At this ceremony the child was given a name. In the very early days two names sufficed, but about 300 B.C. naming a child became more complicated. Gens A gen was a group of freeborn families who traced themselves to a common ancestor, who bore his name, who were united in a common worship, and who were bound to mutual aid in peace and war. Note the background of your gen’s name given below: Julius This is one of the more famous Roman gens. Among the family ancestors are: Mars, the god of war; Venus, the goddess of beauty; Aeneas, the Trojan prince; and Romulus, the founder of Rome. But the most famous ancestors were Gaius Julius Caesar, who destroyed the republic, and Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus (Augustus), who founded the Empire. Aemilius This is one of the most ancient of the Roman clans which has many landmarks named after it such as the Via Aemilia, stretching 180 miles between the cities of Rimini and Placentia. This road carried Roman armies to the foothills of the Alps. An- other landmark was the Pons Aemilius, a bridge across the Tiber that led to the Temples of Fortuna and Mater Matuta (Goddess of Dawn). Famous ancestors include the Consul General, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, who was part of the Second Triumvirate which ruled Rome after Julius Caesar’s assassination, and the Emperor Marcus Julius Aemilius Aemilianus. Romans II:XIV ROMAN NAMES - 1 ROMAN NAMES - 2 Claudius This famous gen was not Latin to begin with, but Sabine instead. Along with the Julian clan, this family provided Rome with its most famous emperors—Tiberius Claudius Nero Caesar (Tiberius), Caius Claudius Caesar Germanicus (Caligula), Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus (Claudius), and Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus (Nero). Cornelius This family was one of the most powerful during the republican period. They held more consulships than any other clan during this early period. Among its more famous ancestors are Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus (who defeated Hannibal and his son) and Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus (who destroyed the city of Carthage). The Grachii Brothers, also part of this family, helped to change Roman government forever. Antonius This famous family provided many generals and war- riors for Rome. The Consul Marcus Antonius put down the revolt of Catiline. And Marcus’ son, the famous Mark Antony, defeated the armies of Julius Caesar’s assassins and joined with Cleopa- tra, Queen of Egypt, against Caesar’s grand-nephew in the great struggle for control of the entire Roman world. Tullius This family produced one of the most famous Romans ever to have lived—Marcus Tullius Cicero. He was the greatest orator of his day and from his writings and letters we have a better understanding of Rome during the last days of the republic. He opposed Caesar’s takeover of Rome and was finally murdered by order of Mark Antony. Boys The male child was designated by an individual first name (praenomen), much like our first names—names such as Publius, Marcus, Caius. There were only about 30 first names for males. The second name was the gen name (nomen), such as Corne- lius, Tullius, Julius. Every male member of the gen would have the same nomen. Lastly, was the family name (cognomen), such as Scipio, Cicero, Caesar. These names designated the family branches within the gen. Thus, a typical Roman male name would look like these two examples: And Praenomen nomen Cognomen his Gaius Julius Caesar name? or Marcus Tullius Cicero Romans II:XV ROMAN NAMES - 3 In formal documents or speeches, Marcus Tullius Cicero would be addressed by his full name. In less formal circumstances only the nomen Tullius would be used. Those who knew him well, even slaves, could call him Marcus. Since names tended to be repeated confusingly in many generations of the same family, they were usually reduced to an initial, and a fourth—or even a fifth—name was added for distinctiveness. For example, historians differenti- ate P(ublius) Cornelius Scipio Africanus Major, the conqueror of Hannibal, from P(ublius) Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus Africanus Minor, the destroyer of Carthage. Girls An unmarried woman usually had only two names—the first, the feminine form of her father’s nomen. Julius became Julia or Jullila; Tullius became Tullia. This nomen was combined with a cognomen of two sorts. First, names such as Major, Minor, or Tertia were used to indicate a chronological rank among the girls of the family. Thus, the second daughter of Nero Claudius Drusus would be known as Claudia Secunda. Another choice for girls would be the cognomen of their father in the genitive case. Thus, Cornelia Scipionis would be the daughter of a Cornelius Scipio. In later times, girls were given praenomens that were a feminine form of a boy’s first name, such as Gaia or Lucia. When a woman married, she added a form of her husband’s cognomen to her name. Thus a typical Roman female name would look like one of these: Praenomen nomen Cognomen (none) Julia Major or (none) Tulliola Scipionis And or her Antonia Livia Drusillis name? Choosing a name 1. When you feel confident that all the members of your group— clan or gen—understand the above naming process, follow these directions while choosing a name. 2. Those members given this assignment will have to think of names for each person in the gen. Your group has already received its clan (gen) name—its nomen. 3. For boys, the gen will have to select a praenomen. Use the Names List on the next page for selections even though there is a limited number. For each boy’s last name or cognomen, Romans II:XVI ROMAN NAMES - 3 ROMAN NAMES - 4 use his own last name adding “ius” to it; for example, Smith becomes Smithius. 4. If you’re a girl, you have very few choices to have a name that is individually unique. Your nomen will be taken from your clan (gen) name. So select a variation of that name. (It’s easy to become confused. Refer to What’s in a name? at the begin- ning of this handout if you’re not sure what to do.) For your cognomen, you will probably be called Major if you’re the first daughter, Minor or Secunda, if you’re the second, and Tertia, if you’re the third. You’ll need to work this out with the other girls in your group. The alternative is to construct a cognomen from the cognomen of your father. So, if your own last name is Smith, you may choose Smithia as your cognomen. If you’d like a praenomen, you may choose a feminine version of one of the praenomen choices for boys on the Names List. names List The praenomen The number of names which people used as “praenomina” seems extremely small compared with the number of first names from which we are used to choosing. There were never more than 30 first names for men in ancient Rome, and, by the time of the late republic, this list had dwindled to 18. Boys (praenomen choices) The following are first names which male Romans would have received at their naming ceremony: Aulus Lucius Publius Spurius Decimus Mamercus Quintus Tiberius Gaius Manius Septimus Titus Gnaeus Marcus Servius Kaeso Postumus Sextus When these praenomen were first used, they had a particular meaning that applied to the individual child. For example, Lucius meant “born by day”; Manius, “born in the morning.” The terms Quintus, Sextus, Decimus indicated the order of birth within a family—fifth, sixth, or tenth. The name Postumus was given to a child whose father had died before his birth. Some names were associated with the name of a god—Marcus and Mamercus with Mars, Tiberius with the river god, Tiberis. Romans forgot most of these meanings just as completely as we lose track of the origins of our names. Romans II:XVII ROMAN NAMES - 5 Girls You must choose a name based on a variation of your nomen (gen name). Sorry, you have no name choices. Refer to the sec- tion on choosing a name for directions. Now choose a name that sounds right for you and give your se- lection to the members of your gen with the name assignment. It will be these members’ responsibility to “straighten out” any difficulty with duplication, etc. Gen names Indicate below the names your members have chosen: Romans II:XVIII ROMAN NAMES - 5 BirthinG CeReMOnY AnD BuLLAS Dies lustricus This ceremony to celebrate birth would take place in the atrium of the house with friends and family all gathered around the child.

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