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HelpPraenomen, Nomen, and Cognomen
Does anyone know any good combinations of these? Is there an actual rule that was followed when naming people in Roman times? I need some creative names. I've noticed that a lot of authors use the name Marcus for a soldier or centurion. I need a creative name that is Roman but describes a typical Roman soldier. Also I need names for a father, mother, son, and two daughters. Like I said is there a specific rule for Roman names like order and who they're named after and if they must have their father's name in their name.
~ Wunderkind_Princess
~ Wunderkind_Princess
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Aristocrats used the three names (praenomen, nomen, cognomen), while lesser Romans often just used the first two.
The praenomen was usually one of just a very few names (10 or so, as I recall)- and Marcus is the only one that sounds remotely usuable today, so that's what modern authors inevitably use for sympathetic characters. First-born sons were almost invariably given their father's praenomen. A Nomen is like a surname, and the final cognomen designated a particular branch of the family (like a double-barrelled surname today) or in the rare case of a prominent politician or whatever, an honorific.
Women's names were just the feminine form of their husband or fathers' nomen, for the most part, with "maior" or "minor" or prima, secunda, tertia etc.
The common Roman Praenomen were Marcus, Gaius, Gnaeus, Publius, Lucius (loo-key-us in latin, not loo-shus), Titus, Quintus, Sextus, Decimus...that's about it for what I remember.
This link has much information, though it's a little old (from a 1905 ish textbook- very famous!)
http://www.forumromanum.org/life/johnston_2.html#41
sa
The praenomen was usually one of just a very few names (10 or so, as I recall)- and Marcus is the only one that sounds remotely usuable today, so that's what modern authors inevitably use for sympathetic characters. First-born sons were almost invariably given their father's praenomen. A Nomen is like a surname, and the final cognomen designated a particular branch of the family (like a double-barrelled surname today) or in the rare case of a prominent politician or whatever, an honorific.
Women's names were just the feminine form of their husband or fathers' nomen, for the most part, with "maior" or "minor" or prima, secunda, tertia etc.
The common Roman Praenomen were Marcus, Gaius, Gnaeus, Publius, Lucius (loo-key-us in latin, not loo-shus), Titus, Quintus, Sextus, Decimus...that's about it for what I remember.
This link has much information, though it's a little old (from a 1905 ish textbook- very famous!)
http://www.forumromanum.org/life/johnston_2.html#41
sa
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correction
Lucius (loo-key-us in latin, not loo-shus)
No! C preceding e and i is soft, so it is loo-SEE-us! Before a, o and u c becomes k when pronounced.
All of this has happened before, and all of this will happen again.
Lucius (loo-key-us in latin, not loo-shus)
No! C preceding e and i is soft, so it is loo-SEE-us! Before a, o and u c becomes k when pronounced.
All of this has happened before, and all of this will happen again.
1
There's something about this in "The Idiot's Guide to Latin"
Men usually had 3 names
The first name was a personal name
the 2nd name was the name of his clan
the 3rd name was used to denote the family within the clan, but may have originally been a nickname.
Girls were named after their fathers. Julia was named after Julius, Lucia after Lucius, Marcia after Marcus etc. Any subsequent daughters were named Julia seconda, Julia terza etc. I don't know if sons had their father's name in their name.
Slaves had one name.
Some suggestions; Marcus, Antonius, Claudius, Lucius, Gaius, Maximus, Augustus, Tiberius, Nero, Titus, Hadrian, Cassius, Magnus, Andronicus, Julius, Commodus
As for nomen and cognomen, all I can think of is; Aurelius, Tullius and Cicero
Men usually had 3 names
The first name was a personal name
the 2nd name was the name of his clan
the 3rd name was used to denote the family within the clan, but may have originally been a nickname.
Girls were named after their fathers. Julia was named after Julius, Lucia after Lucius, Marcia after Marcus etc. Any subsequent daughters were named Julia seconda, Julia terza etc. I don't know if sons had their father's name in their name.
Slaves had one name.
Some suggestions; Marcus, Antonius, Claudius, Lucius, Gaius, Maximus, Augustus, Tiberius, Nero, Titus, Hadrian, Cassius, Magnus, Andronicus, Julius, Commodus
As for nomen and cognomen, all I can think of is; Aurelius, Tullius and Cicero
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