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.
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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 de-
stroyed 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
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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 cogno-
men 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,
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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.
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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:

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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.

The eighth day of life for girls and the ninth day for boys was
the “day of purification.” On this day the child was named. The
father lifted up the infant in front of witnesses to demonstrate
his acceptance of the child into the family and shouted loudly,
“Let the boy/girl be called_______.” The whole company would
raise a shout of joy and rush forward to bestow on the child gifts
called crepundia.

These gifts were tiny metal toys or ornaments in the form of

flowers, miniature axes and swords, various tools, and especially
figures shaped like half-moons strung together and worn around
the neck. They served as playthings to keep the child amused.
Their name came from the Latin, crepo—to rattle.

Of more importance, however, was the gift of the father—the

bulla. It was shaped like a watchcase or a locket and made of
gold or leather, depending upon the wealth of the family. Inside it
would contain an amulet as protection against “fascinatio”—the
evil eye, and every Roman child would have one. The custom
came from the Etruscans, and Roman children wore their bullas
until the proud day when a boy assumed his manly toga (14 to
16 years old) or when a young girl left her parents’ home as a
bride (as early as 12 years old). At that time the bulla would be
dedicated to the Lares, or family spirits,
and carefully preserved.

Bulla assignment directions

Your assignment is to make your
own bulla. Use any materials
from home that you want. Be
as thoughtful and creative as
you can. This creation will be
a personal representation of
your uniqueness. Put your
Roman name somewhere on
the bulla. Wear it around your
neck during the class activi-
ties. Be prepared with your
bulla for the naming ceremony
the next hour. Don’t be left out!

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