Oleg and Valentina Svetovid are mystics, specialists in esotericism and occultism, authors of 15 books.

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Roman (Latin) names

Roman male and female names and their meanings

Male names

Female names

August Augustine Amadeus Amadeus Anton Anufriy (Onufriy) Boniface Benedict Valery Valentine Venedikt Vivian Vikenty Victor Vitaly Hermann Dementy Dominic Donat Ignat (Ignatius) Innocent Hypaty Kapiton Kasyan (Kassian) Claudius Klim (Clement) Concordia Konstantin Constantius Cornil Cornelius Roots Laurel Lavrentiy Leonty Luke Lucian Maksim Maximillian Mark Martin (Martyn) Mercury Modest Ovid Paul Patrick Prov Novel Severin Sergey Silantium Sylvan Sylvester Terenty Theodore Ustin Felix Flavian (Flavius) Flor Florenty Fortunatus Felix Caesar Erast Emil Juvenaly Julian Julius Justin Januarius

Augusta Agnia Agnes Akulina Alevtina Alina Albina Antonina Aurelia Aster Beatrice Bella Benedicta Valentina Valeria Venus Vesta Vida Victoria Vitalina Virginia Virinea Dahlia Gloria Hydrangea Gemma Julia Diana Dominica Blast furnace Iolanta Kaleria Karina Capitolina Claudia Clara Clarice Clementine Concordia Constance Laura Lillian Lily Lola Love Lucien Lucia (Lucia) Margarita Marina Marceline Matron Natalia (Natalia) Nonna Pavel Pavlina (Paulina) Rimma Regina Renata Rose Sabina Silvia Stella Severina Ulyana Ustina Faustina Flora Felicata Felice Cecilia Emilia Juliana Julia Juno Justinia

The meaning of Roman (Roman-Byzantine) names

Roman male names and their meanings

Men's: Augustus (sacred), Anton (Roman family name, in Greek - entering into battle), Valentin (strong man), Valery (strong man), Venedict (blessed), Vincent (victorious), Victor (victor), Vitaly (vital), Dementius (dedicated to the goddess Damia), Donatus (gift), Ignatus (unknown), Innocent (innocent), Hypatius (high consul), Capito (tadpole), Claudius (lame-footed), Clement (indulgent), Constantine (permanent), Cornilus ( horned), Laurel (tree), Laurentius (crowned with a laurel wreath), Leonid (lion cub), Leonty (lion), Maxim (largest), Mark (languid), Martyn (born in March), Modest (modest), Mokey (mockingbird ), Pavel (finger), Prov (test), Prokofy (prosperous), Roman (Roman), Sergei (Roman family name), Sylvester (forest), Felix (lucky), Frol (blooming), Caesar (royal), Juvenal (youthful), Julius (fidgety, curly), Januarius (gatekeeper).

Roman female names and their meanings

Women's: Aglaya (brilliance), Agnessa (lamb), Akulina (eagle), Alevtina (strong woman), Alina (step-brother), Albina (white girl), 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 (lame), Clementine (indulgent), Margarita (pearl), Marina (sea), Natalia (nee), Regina (queen), Renata (renewed), Ruth (red), Silva (forest).

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For fourteen centuries, the Romans and other peoples of Italy used a naming system that differed from that used by other European and Mediterranean cultures, consisting of a combination of personal and generic names. The traditional Roman system of three names (Latin tria nomina) combines praenomen (Latin Praenomen), nomen (Latin Nomen) and cognomen (Latin Cognomen), which came to be considered as the main elements of the Roman name. In fact, the Roman name system 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 influence on the development of European naming practices, and many of them live on 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 individuals through the use of distinct personal names. Composed 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 was added to 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, a hereditary surname that identified a person as a member of a particular lineage. This was preceded praenomen, or Name, a personal name that served to distinguish different members of the clan. The origins of this binary system are lost in prehistory, but the system appears to have been established in Latium 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. Towards the end of the Roman Republic this was accompanied by the name of the citizen's electoral tribe. 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 consider the combination of praenomen, nomen, and cognomen as a defining feature of Roman citizenship, known as tria nomina. But although all three elements of the Roman name existed throughout most of Roman history, the concept tria nomina may be misleading because not all of these names were necessary or used throughout Roman history. During the period of the Roman Republic, the praenomen and nomen represented the basic elements of a 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 bore the 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 praenomen 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, Roman women used a binomial naming system for men; but over time the praenomen became less useful as a distinguishing element, and female praenomen 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 a praenomen. Most women were referred to by their nomen alone or by a combination of nomen and cognomen. The praenomen was still given when necessary, and as with the male praenomen the practice survived into imperial times, but the proliferation of personal cognomen eventually rendered the use of the female praenomen obsolete.

In the late empire, members of the Roman aristocracy used several different schemes of application and inheritance of the nomen and cognomen, both to indicate their rank and to indicate their family and social connections. 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 called 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 the 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 scarce in written records in the 4th century, and by the fifth century it was retained only by the most conservative sections 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 praenomen, nomen and 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 distinctive feature of Roman culture that distinguished citizens from foreigners.

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

Names of Roman citizens

Male names

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

— prenomena - personal name,

— nomena - family name,

— cognomena (cognomen) - an individual nickname or clan name.

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

Prenomen

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

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

The boy received a personal name on the eighth or ninth day after birth. There was a tradition of giving a personal name only to the four eldest sons, and the remaining personal names could be ordinal numbers: Quintus (fifth), Sextus (sixth), Septimus (seventh), Octavius ​​(eighth), and Decimus (tenth). Over time, these names became commonly used (that is, they turned into personal ones), and as a result, a person bearing the name Sextus does not necessarily have to be the sixth son in the family. As an example, we can recall the commander Sextus Pompey , second son of a member of the first triumvirate Gnaeus Pompey the Great .

Often the eldest son received his father's praenomen. In 230 BC. e. This tradition was consolidated by a decree of the Senate, so the father’s personal name began, as a rule, to pass to the eldest son. For example, the emperor Octavian Augustus had, like his great-great-grandfather, great-grandfather, grandfather and father, the name Guy .

Common Roman personal names

Prenomen	Reduction	Note
Appius	App.	Appius; According to legend, this name comes from Sabine Atta and was brought to Rome by the Claudian family
Aulus	A. or Avl.	Avl; in common parlance there was an archaic form Olus, so this name can also be abbreviated ABOUT.
Decimus	D. or Dec.	Decimus; archaic Decumos; from the ordinal number "tenth"
Gaius	C.	Guy; often written as Caius, therefore abbreviated as C., and very rarely - as G... It dates back to the times when C and G were not distinguished in writing. The name comes from the Etruscan Cae or Cai, meaning unknown.
Gnaeus	Cn.	Gney; archaic form of Gnaivos; very rarely abbreviated as Gn.; there are forms Naevus, Naeus, Cnaeus.
Kaeso	TO.	Quezon; another spelling option - Caeso. Means "cut from the womb." An uncommon praenomen, used only in the Fabi family.
Lucius	L.	Lucius; archaic Loucios- from lux (light).
Mamercus	Mam.	Mamerk; name of Oscan origin, used only in the Emilian family
Manius	M`.	Mania; the comma-shaped sign in the upper right corner is the remainder of the five-line outline of the letter M.
Marcus	M.	Mark; there is a spelling Marqus. Derived from Etruscan Marce, meaning unknown. It was very common.
Numerius	N.	Numerius; Oscan origin. Related to gender Fabiev .
Publius	P.	Publius; archaic Poblios, abbreviated as Po. Comes from Lat. publius- “folk”, and this, in turn, from the Etruscan Puplie.
Quintus	Q.	Quint; in common parlance Cuntus, meet Quinctus, Quintulus; from the ordinal number “fifth”. It was very common.
Servius	Ser.	Servius- from servo(to protect, to protect). Less common.
Sextus	Sex.	Sextus; from the ordinal number "sixth"
Spurius	S. or Sp.	Spurius; can also be used not as a praenomen, but in its original meaning “illegitimate”
Titus	T.	Titus- from Etruscan Tite, meaning unknown.
Tiberius	Ti. or Tib.	Tiberius- from Etruscan Thefarie, which possibly means "river". It was very common.

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

Agrippa - "born feet first."

Aruns, Vel, Lar, are of Etruscan origin.

Vopiscus, Drusus - used only in the patrician family Klavdiev .

Decius - associated with a patrician family Minutia .

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

Marius - possibly derived from the Roman god Mars.

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

Mettius ("Mettius") - from Etruscan Metie.

Nonus - "ninth", Octavianus - "eighth", Primus - "first", Secundus - "second", Septimus - "seventh", Tertius - "third",

Opiter - associated with a patrician family Verginiev .

Postumus - “born after the death of the father.”

Faustus - “happy”, archaic praenomen revived by the dictator Sulla for his twin children and used by his descendants. Uncommon praenomen.

Flavius ​​(Flavius) - from flavus (gold), imperial praenomen after the 3rd century. Reached the 8th century. n. e.

Caelus - from Etruscan Caele.

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

Amulius, Ancus, Annius, Atta, Vibius, Volero, Volusus, Denter, Eppius, Cossus, Messius, Minatius, Minius, Nero, Novius, Numa, Ovius, Opiavus, Hospolis, Hostus, Paulus, Pacvius, Paquius, Pescennius, Percennius, Petro, Plancus, Plautus, Pompo, Popidius, Potitus , Proc (u) lus, Retus, Salvius, Servius, Sertor, Sisenna, Statius, Tirrus, Trebius (Trebius), Tullus (Tullus), Turus (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, Klavdiev Neronov - only Tiberius and Decimus, Domitsiev Agenobarbov - only Gnaeus and Lucius.

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

Nomen

The generic name was the name of the clan 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 family Yuliev ); in republican time the endings -is, -i are also found. Generic names of non-Roman origin had endings different from those indicated.

Origins and suffixes of generic names:

Origin	Ending	Examples
Roman	-ius	Tullius, Julius
	-is	Caecilis
	-i	Caecili
Sabine-Osk	-enus	Alfenus, Varenus
Umbrian	-as	Maenas
	-anas	Mafenas
	-enas	Asprenas, Maecenas
	-inas	Carrinas, Fulginas
Etruscan	-arna	Mastarna
	-erna	Perperna, Calesterna
	-enna	Sisenna, Tapsenna
	-ina	Caecina, Prastina
	-inna	Spurinna

In inscriptions, family 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.

Total number of generic names, by Varro , reached a thousand. Most family names are of such ancient origin that their meaning has been forgotten. Only a few have a specific 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, those who seized supreme power began to justify their rights to power by their descent from ancient kings and heroes. Julius Caesar, for example, indicated that his paternal family goes back to the gods: Jupiter - Venus - Aeneas - Yul - family Yuliev , and on the mother's side to the kings: from Anka Marcia happened Marcia Rex (Latin rex - king).

Cognomen

An individual nickname, once given to one of the representatives of the clan, was often passed on to descendants and became the name of a family or a separate branch of the clan: Cicero - Cicero, Caesar - Caesar. For example, to the family Korneliev belonged to the family Scipionov , 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 families of Rome were of such ancient origin that each of them had several branches.

Since the father's personal name passed on 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 the grandfather, son and grandson are called Quintus Fulvius Rusticus , Quintus Fulvius Attianus And Quintus Fulvius Carisianus .

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

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

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

- about the appearance or special features of their first owners (Paullus - short, Rufus - red, Strabo - cross-eyed, Habitus - plump, Ahenobarbus - red-bearded, Crassus - fat, Rutilus - red, Massa - block, Crispus - curly, Arvina - fat, Pilosus - hairy, Laetus - corpulent, Calvus - bald, Macer - thin, Ravilla - yellow-eyed, Celsus - tall, Paetus - slyly looking, Luscus - one-eyed, Longus - long; Strabo - cross-eyed, Capito - big-headed, Nasica - pointed-nosed, Dentatus - toothy, Naso - big-nosed, Flaccus - lop-eared, Silus - snub-nosed, Balbus - stutterer, Blaesus - lisping, Pansa - with wide feet, Scaurus - clubfooted, 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 (lat. 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 one family. For example, the famous orator Marcus Tullius Cicero's father and son had exactly the same name.

Agnomen was most often a personal nickname if the cognomen was hereditary. Sometimes a Roman received an agnomen for some special merit. Publius Cornelius Scipio in honor of the victory he won over Hannibal in Africa in 202 BC. e., began to be called solemnly African (lat. Africanus). Lucius Aemilius Paulus 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 (Latin Felix - happy) to his name, so his full name became Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix . Agnomen Felix from a personal nickname it 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, numbering many branches and cognomen, had agnomen. In such genera, the cognomen sometimes almost merged with the generic name and was used inseparably with it to name the genus. Famous plebeian family Tsetsiliev (Caecilii) had the ancient cognomen Metellus, the meaning of which is forgotten (freed mercenary). This cognomen seemed to merge with the name of the genus, which became known as Caecilia Metella . Naturally, almost all members of this family had an agnomen.

The patrician family had many branches Korneliev . One of the members of this family received the nickname Scipio (lat. scipio - rod, stick), because he was the guide of his blind father and served him as if instead of a staff. Cognomen Scipio stuck with his descendants, over time Cornelia Scipione took a prominent place in their family and received agnomens. In the 3rd century BC. e. Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio received the agnomen Asina (donkey) for bringing a donkey loaded with gold to the Forum as a pledge. The nickname Asina passed on to his son Publius (Publius Cornelius Scipio Asina). Another representative Korneliev Scipionov received the nickname Nasica (sharp-nosed), which passed on to his descendants and began to serve as the name of a branch of the clan, so that in the clan Korneliev separated from the Scipioni branch Scipioni Nasica . It is natural that Scipioni Nasica a third cognomen was received as an individual nickname, so that the full name could already consist of five names: Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Serapion (Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Serapio), consul 138 BC e.; the nickname Serapio (from the Egyptian god Serapis) was given to him by the tribune of the people Curiatii for his resemblance to a dealer in sacrificial animals.

Some people had two family names; this was the 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 retained his family name in a modified form with the suffix -an-, which took the place of the agnomen. Guy Octavius , future emperor August , after adopting him Gaius Julius Caesar got a name Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian (Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus).

Female names

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

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

Noble women could bear, in addition to the family name, the cognomen of their father; for example, wife Sulla was the daughter Lucia Caecilia Metella Dalmatica and was called Caecilia Metella , wife of the emperor Augusta was the daughter Mark Livius Drusus Claudiana 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 clan. case: Caeciliae, Q (uinti) Cretici f (iliae), Metellae, Crassi (uxori) - Cecilia Metella, daughter of Quintus Creticus, (wife) of Crassus. From the inscription it follows that this woman was the daughter Quinta Caecilius Metella Creticus and wife Crassus . The inscription was made on a large round mausoleum near Rome on the Appian Way, in which she was buried Caecilia Metella , daughter of the consul of 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 property of the master and were as powerless as all members of the family. This is how archaic slave names were formed, composed 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 - archaic form of the personal name Aulus ).

With the development of slavery, the need arose 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, Philocalus, Philonicus, Eros, etc. Greek names were sometimes given to barbarian slaves.

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

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

It is known that the slave lot in Rome was very difficult, but this did not in any way affect the names of slaves who do not have mocking nicknames. On the contrary, among slaves the names Felix and Faustus (happy) are found. Obviously, these nicknames, which became names, were received only by those slaves whose lives were relatively successful. The inscriptions mention: Faust, baker Tiberius Germanicus , and Faust, manager of his master's perfume shop Popilia , Felix, in charge of decorations Guy Caesar , another Felix, manager of the estates Tiberius Caesar , and another Felix, an overseer in the wool weaving workshops Messalina ; the daughters of one slave from the house of Caesars were called Fortunata and Felitsa.

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 hard and fast rules regarding slave names. Therefore, when buying a slave in an official document, his name was accompanied by the clause “or by whatever other name he may be called” (Latin: 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 there is the word servus (slave) always abbreviated ser, very rarely s, it can also appear between two cognomen of the master; There is no strict word order at all. The word "slave" is often completely absent; as a rule, slaves owned by women do not have it. For example, Euticus, Aug (usti) ser (vus), pictor - Euticus, slave Augusta (imperial slave), painter; Eros, cocus Posidippi, ser (vus) - Eros, cook Posidippa , slave; Idaeus, Valeriae Messalin (ae) supra argentum - Idaeus, treasurer Valeria Messalina .

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

Freedmen's names

A freedman (i.e., a slave who received freedom) acquired the personal and family names of the former master, who became his patron, and retained his former name as a cognomen. Yes, secretary Cicero Tyrone, freed from slavery, was called: M. Tullius M. libertus Tiro - Mark Tullius freedman of Mark Tiron. A slave named Apella, set free Mark Manny Prim , became known as Marcus Manneus Apella. Bassa's slave, freed Lucius Hostilius Pamphilus , received the name Hostilia Bassa (women did not have a name). Lucius Cornelius Sulla freed ten thousand slaves who belonged to persons who died during the proscriptions; they all became Lucius Cornelius (the famous “army” of ten thousand “Cornelians”).

The names of imperial freedmen are often found in the inscriptions: baker Gaius Julius Eros , theatrical costume tailor Tiberius Claudius Dipter , in charge of the emperor's triumphal white robe Mark Koktsey Ambrosius , in charge of the emperor's hunting clothes Mark Ulpius Euphrosynus in charge of receiving the emperor's friends Marcus Aurelius Success 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 , freedman Quintus, poor colon. In rare cases, instead of the personal name of the former master, his cognomen stands: L (ucius) Nerfinius, Potiti l (ibertus), Primus, lardarius - Lucius Nerfinius Prim, freedman of Potiti, sausage maker. The freedmen of the imperial house in the inscriptions are abbreviated Avg l (Avg lib), i.e. Augusti libertus (after the family 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 rarely found: P (ublius) Decimius, P (ublii) l (ibertus), Eros Merula, medicus clinicus, chirurgus, ocularius - Publius Decimius Eros Merula, freedman of Publius, general practitioner, surgeon, ophthalmologist.

Are female freedmen abbreviated in inscriptions? L (the inverted C represents a remnant of the archaic female personal name Gaia): L (ucius) Crassicius, ? (= mulieris) l (ibertus), Hermia, medicus veterinarius - Lucius Crassicius Hermia, freedman of a woman, veterinarian.

Freedmen of cities received the name Publicius (from publicus - public) or the name of the city as a family 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 Asklepiades, did not always belong to the doctor: in one inscription, Asklepiades, a slave of Caesar, a marble maker, appears.

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

Provincial names

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

New citizens often accepted the reigning emperor's nomen in addition. For example, after Caracalla (Marcus Aurelius Septimius Bassianus Antoninus) extended civil rights to all free people in the empire, many of them accepted the nomen Aurelius (in fact, nomen Caracallas was Septimius. The nomen Aurelius was added to claim Roman nobility).

Full name example :

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

prenomen: Mark

nomen: Aurelius (belongs to the genus Avreliev )

father's name: son Brand

grandfather's name: grandson Quint

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

cognomen: Antonin (family Antoninov )

agnomen: Pius (probably due to its mildness it is 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 Verus, son of Gaius, from the Pomptine tribe, originally from Dertona...

In daily communication, a combination of nomen and praenomen, or often simply cognomen, was commonly used. So, Marcus Livius Drusus could just be Drusus or Marcus Livius. Julia Marciana it could just be Julia.

In Ancient Rome, the attitude towards names was more than serious. There was even a saying: “Names are not to be made public.” Therefore, the Roman priests avoided pronouncing the names of the patron gods of Rome - enemies would recognize these names and lure the gods to themselves. And slaves did not have the right to tell the name of their master to a stranger.

Roman male names.

Complex history of the origin of Roman names took shape over centuries and had a clear structure. A full male name consisted of three components - a personal name (prenomen), a generic name (nomen) and an individual nickname or name of a branch of the clan (cognomen). Personal Roman names there were few, and they were ancient meaning in the classical era it was already forgotten. The eldest son, as a rule, received his father's name. Some clans had a limited number of such names. For example, the Cornelius Scipios had only Gnaeus, Lucius and Publius, and the Claudius Nero had only Tiberius and Decimus. If any member of the clan violated the law, then his name was forever excluded from the clan memory. For this reason, the name Lucius was not found in the Claudian family, and in the Manlian family, boys were not called by the name Mark.

All members of the same clan had one common generic name. The interpretation of these names has long been forgotten; only a few have reached us Roman generic names With famous meaning - Octavius ​​(eighth), Ovidius (sheep), Fabius (bean), Asinius (donkey).

The third individual name (cognomen) was optional for plebeian clans. It was the nickname of the founder of the branch of the clan, which passed on to his descendants. The cognomen spoke about the origin of the clan and significant events. But most often they named the distinctive features of their first carrier - Krasus (fat), Paullus (short), Rufus (red-haired), Probus (honest).

Women's names.

It's interesting that personal names in ancient Rome were assigned only to men; women were given only nicknames or a modified family name. A girl born into the Yuli family was named Yulia, and in the Cornelian family - Cornelia. Naturally, female names were repeated in the same family. To avoid confusion, representatives of the same family differed in age - Yulia Mayor (eldest), Yulia Sekunda (second), Yulia Minor (younger). Patrician women added the name of their father or husband to their name - Cecilia Metella (daughter of Metella).

Slave names.

Roman slaves bore the names that they had as free people. Most often these were Greek names - Alexander, Antigonus, Museum, Philocalus, Eros. Greek names were also given to barbarian slaves. Sometimes the name of a slave meant the place of his birth - Dacus (Dacian), Corinthus (Corinthian). It happened that instead of a name, slaves were simply assigned a serial number - First, Second. However, Roman slaves did not have derogatory nicknames. On the contrary, there were such names as Faustus (happy), Fortuna (luck). Once released, the slave received the name of his master. For example, the freedman Apella, the slave of the master Marcus Manneus Prima, began to be called Marcus Manneus Apella.

The Romans usually had three names - first name, patronymic and last name. 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 by one, two or three letters. Such abbreviations were very common, and therefore one must be able to reveal them; Here are the most common: Appius, Gaius, Gnaeus, Decimus, Lucius, Manius, Marcus, Publius, Quintus, Servius, Sextus, Tiberius, Titus, Vopiscus.

The second name - nomen - was the name of the clan and corresponded approximately to our surname.

The third name - cognomen - was a nickname that was assigned to everyone according to some characteristics: the red-haired one - Rufus, the trickster - Cato, the big-nosed one - Nazon.

A cognomen distinguished a family or a separate branch of a given genus. For example, the families of the Scipios, Rufini, and Lentuli belonged to the Cornelian family.

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

Women's names

Women were called by their father's generic Roman name in the feminine form. The daughter of Publius Cornelius Scipio was called Cornelia, the daughter of Marcus 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 nicknamed Third (Tertia), Fifth (Quintilla). A married woman kept her name, but her husband's cognomen was added to it: Cornelia, daughter of Cornelia, (wife) of Gracchus (Cornelia, filia Cornelii, Gracchi).

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

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

In 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 of) Crassus."

From the inscription it follows that this woman was the daughter of Quintus Caecilius Metellus Creticus 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, was buried.

Slave names

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

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

With the rise of slavery, the need for personal names for slaves arose.

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, Philocalus, Philonicus, Eros, etc. Greek names were sometimes given to barbarian slaves.

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

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

It is known that the slave lot in Rome was very difficult, but this did not in any way affect the names of slaves who do not have mocking nicknames. On the contrary, among slaves the names Felix and Faustus (happy) are found. Obviously, these nicknames, which became names, were received only by those slaves whose lives were relatively successful. The inscriptions mention: Faustus, the baker of Tiberius Germanicus, and Faustus, the manager 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 estates of Tiberius Caesar, and another Felix, an overseer in the wool weaving workshops of Messalina; the daughters of one slave from the house of Caesars were called Fortunata and Felitsa.

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 hard and fast rules regarding slave names. Therefore, when buying a slave in an official document, his name was accompanied by the clause “or by whatever other name he may be called” (sive is quo alio nomine est). For example: “Maxim, son of Baton, bought a girl named Passia, or whatever other name she was called, about six years old, having received in excess of the contract...”.

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 there is the word servus (slave), always abbreviated SER, very rarely S. The word “slave” is often completely absent; as a rule, slaves owned by women do not have it. SER can stand between two cognomina lord; There is no strict word order at all.

Freedmen (namely, slaves who received freedom) acquired the clan and personal name of the former master, their own name was placed in third place as a cognomen. Thus, Cicero’s secretary Tyrone, freed from slavery, was called: Marcus Tullius freedman Marcus Tiron - M Tullius M libertus Tiro). Podosinov A.V., Shaveleva N.I. Lingua Latina: An Introduction to the Latin Language and Ancient Culture.

The Romans usually had three names, just like we do - first name, patronymic and last name.

The first name is praenomen- was personal, like Peter or Mary. There were few such names; there are only eighteen of them. In writing they were abbreviated by one, two or three letters. Such abbreviations were very common, and therefore one must be able to reveal them; Here are the most common: Appius, Gaius, Gnaeus, Decimus, Lucius, Manius, Marcus, Publius, Quintus, Servius, Sextus, Tiberius, Titus, Vopiscus.

Second name - nomen- was the name of the clan and corresponded approximately to our surname.

Third name - cognomen- was a nickname that was assigned to everyone according to some characteristics: the red-haired one - Rufus, the trickster - Cato, the big-nosed one - Nazon. A cognomen distinguished a family or a separate branch of a given genus. For example, the families of the Scipios, Rufini, Lentuli, etc. belonged to the Cornelian family.

Sometimes, for some special merit, a Roman received a fourth name or second nickname - agnomen. Publius Cornelius Scipio, in honor of the victory he won over Hannibal in Africa in 202 BC, began to be called solemnly African (Africanus, cf. the nicknames of Russian commanders - Alexander Nevsky, Dmitry Donskoy, Suvorov of Rymnik, Potemkin of Tauride). Women were called by their father's generic name in the feminine form. The daughter of Publius Cornelius Scipio was called Cornelia, the daughter of Marcus 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 nicknamed Third (Tertia), Fifth (Quintilla), etc.

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

Slaves were named by their origin: Sir (a native of Syria), Gall (a native of Gaul), Phrixus (from Phrygia); by the names of mythical heroes: Achilles, Hector; by the names of plants or stones: Adamant, Sardonicus, etc. Sometimes slaves, who were often called "boy" (puer), were given the owner's name in the genitive case: Marcipor (from Marcipuer), that is, the slave of Mark.

Freedmen (i.e. slaves who received freedom) acquired the clan and personal name of the former master, their own name was placed in third place as a cognomen. Thus, Cicero’s secretary Tyrone, freed from slavery, was called: Marcus Tullius freedman Marcus Tiron - M Tullius M libertus Tiro).

The history of the origin of names in Rome took shape over many centuries and is considered quite confusing. Some Roman nominal words were so ancient that their meanings were long forgotten in the classical era. The system, which was finally consolidated and assimilated, was formed only in the 2nd century AD. e, at the peak of the prosperity and power of the Roman Empire.

The Romans took names extremely seriously, and believed that fate lay in them. The people were sure that, having learned the name of a person, the enemy could steal his life with the help of magic. That is why slaves did not have the right to call their master out loud, especially in front of a stranger.

The priests were afraid that having learned what the god was called, ill-wishers could appease him with more generous sacrifices and lure him into their service. At first, slaves did not have nicknames at all, since they were considered the “things” of the owner, and the name of the criminal was considered cursed and was excluded from the dynasty, to which he belonged, for many generations to come.

The text uses terms denoting the components of male names. They consisted of three parts:

• Prenomen– personal name of a man (lat. praenomen).
• Nomen– name of the clan/dynasty/family (lat. nomen).
• Cognomen– Personal nickname/nickname of a person, or a title given for merit or success in any field (lat. cognomen).

Origin and evolution of naming

Early Republic

Since the status of a resident of Rome was determined by the fortune and prestige of her father, girls from noble and wealthy dynasties were highly respected. They were awarded such privileges as appearance at public events and the right to immunity, even by their own husbands. But despite this, Roman women were still deprived of their own names and they did not have a praenomen.

Girls were given the family nomen of the patriarch of the family, sometimes changing the ending to “a\ya” (ia), which emphasized the feminine form when addressed. In fact, the name of a Roman woman simply showed what family she was from. For example, the male family nomen of a parent is Cornelius, all his daughters will be called Cornelia. A girl from the Tullian family, for example, father Marcus Tullius Cicero, will therefore bear the name Tullia. Also popular in the CIS, the name Julia comes from the name of the Roman dynasty and the male nomen - Julius.

A famous example is Gaius Julius Caesar. That is why all the women of the clan bore the same names and differed only in cognomen. If several girls were born in a family, this was not a problem. To distinguish between women of the same family, cognomen were used to determine age. The first and eldest daughter in the family was called Major, which meant “eldest”.

The middle ones were called according to the sequence of their birth, their cognomen meant serial numbers: Secunda (second), Tertia (third), Quarta (fourth), Quinta (fifth) and so on until the youngest. The last born girl bore the nickname Minor. This rule applied both between sisters and among the mothers and grandmothers of this family. For example, the grandmother of the Emilia family is Emilia Major, her daughters are Emilia Secunda and Emilia Tertia, and her granddaughters, respectively, are Emilia Quarta and Emilia Minor.

Representatives of the most influential families of the city, especially the imperial one, had advantages, so they had the honor of proudly wearing the cognomen and agnomen of their fathers. When a Roman woman married, she kept her family name, but always added the nomen or cognomen of her husband to it. That is each name showed whose daughter and wife she was.

For example, Julia, the daughter of Gaius Julius Caesar, became the wife of Gnaeus Pompey the Great and her full name was Julia Pompeia, literally - the young lady is the daughter of Julius and the wife of Pompey, in this case Pompey-nomen husband. Marcus's wife Livia Drusa became famous as Livia Drusilla, here the family nomen are the same, and Drusus is the cognomen, presented in a feminized form.

Late Republic

In late republican times, not only girls of noble dynasties, but also citizens of the middle and lower classes were allowed to proudly bear the title or nickname of their father. Cognomen could be in feminized form. For example, the daughters of Lucius Licinius Crassus were named Licinia Crassa the Elder (Licinia Crassa Major) and Licinia Crassa the Younger (Licinia Crassa Minor). Sempronia Tuditani was the daughter of Sempronius Tuditani.

Imperial Rome

At the dawn of the Roman Empire, the naming system became more diverse and more eccentric. Parents could choose a name, and more than one. Girls were named after their paternal and maternal grandparents, combining the father's family nomen with the mother's name, and also adding the place of origin. Plautia Urgulanilla had a mixture of her father's and grandmother's names, despite the fact that she was the wife of Claudius.

Drusilla, the sister of Claudius, bore her grandfather's cognomen (Drusus) as her name, Livilla was named after her paternal grandmother, Livia, and Theodosius' daughter could easily be called Galla Placidia, partly in honor of her mother. In later generations, the traditional rules became more relaxed, and the names of most Roman women bore little or no resemblance to the names of their parents and relatives.

Claudia's daughters were no longer Claudia Major and Claudia Minor; the parents' decision was to name them Claudia Antonia and Claudia Octavia.

In the Severan dynasty, almost all women had the first name Julia, which was not a generic nomen, and the second names were all different. Subsequently, names with a variety of meanings began to gain popularity, moreover, they were invented and not related to the generic name.

At first, they were used only by rich and noble dynasties to show their privileges and importance; later, the fashion of naming newborn girls beautifully and meaningfully made its way to the middle and lower strata of the population and finally took hold among the ancient Roman people.

Such interesting nicknames as Lucia (sparkling), Poplia (folk), Celia (heaven), Venus (love) and Margherita (pearl) became standard among the Romans and were encountered more and more often. There were also beautiful and noble words for our understanding:

• happiness;
• rich;
• darling;
• flower;
• life;
• lucky;
• free.

So are the strange, controversial and not very positive ones:

• angry;
• lame;
• stone;
• black;
• salt.

Below you can find a list of Latin female names that take their roots from ancient Roman times, and with their meanings:

Roman generic names are famous for their abundance, and therefore are the most difficult to recognize for historians from around the world. Many names used in our century have been transformed or differ at least in the ending, since Latin, the language of ancient Rome, became the ancestor of English and many European languages. The meanings of these names are almost lost these days, but resourceful parents still use them because of their beauty and unusualness.