View Message

If you're wondering why anyone would name a girl "Pig", they didn't. Strictly speaking Porcia is the feminine version of her clan (gens) name — her fathers and brothers would be (Marcus) Porcius etc.. The nomen Porcius belongs to a class of gentilicia (Roman clan names) derived from the names of common animals and objects, such as Asinius (ass), Ovinius (aheep), Caprarius (goat), and Taurus (ox). For quite some time Roman women were not known by their own praenomen, and it is generally thought they weren't given one during this period, but were merely referred to by their clan and family names, the equivalent of "the Clinton girl". If there was more than one in the same family they might be known as "the elder" and "the younger" or "first", "second", and "third" etc..