Ancient Romans whose names have come down to us. Naming system in the Roman Empire

Today, Roman names are not very popular. This is partly due to the fact that most of them are forgotten, and their meaning is completely unclear. If you delve into history, then at the time of dawn, children and adults were given names throughout their lives, and later they turned into family names. The peculiarity of Roman names is of genuine interest to historians so far.

Name structure

In ancient times, people, just like now, the name consisted of three parts. Only if we are used to calling a person by his last name, first name and patronymic, then the Romans had slightly different features.

The first name in Roman sounded like a prenomen. It was similar to our Petya, Misha. There were very few such names - only eighteen. They were used only for men and were rarely pronounced, in writing they were often indicated by one or two capital letters. That is, no one wrote them completely. Few meanings of these names have survived to this day. Yes, and Appiev, Gnaeus and Quintes are difficult to find among children these days.

In fact, his name was Octavian, since he was adopted by the great emperor. But, having come to power, he missed the first three parts, and soon added the title of Augustus to his name (as a benefactor of the state).

Augustus Octavian had three daughters, Julia. Having no boy heirs, he had to adopt grandchildren, who were also called Julius Caesars. But since they were only grandchildren, they retained their names given at birth. So, the heirs of Tiberius Julius Caesar and Agripa Julius Caesar are known in history. They became famous for simple names Tiberius and Agripa, founding their families. Thus, there is a tendency to a decrease in the name and the disappearance of the need for parts of nomen and coglomen.

It is very easy to get confused in the abundance of generic names. Therefore, Roman names are the most difficult to recognize in the world.

Names of Roman citizens

Male names

In classical times, a full Roman male name usually consisted of three components: a personal name, or prenomen ( praenomen), generic name, or nomen ( nomen), And individual nickname or the name of a branch of the genus, cognomen ( cognomen).

Praenomenon

The personal name was similar to the modern male name. The Romans used a small number of personal names (18 names from total 72); usually they were ancient origin, what in classical era most of them have been forgotten. In the inscriptions, personal names were almost always written in abbreviated form (1-3 letters).

Other personal names were rarely used and were usually written in full: Agrippa, Ancus, Annius, Aruns, Atta, Cossus, Denter, Eppius, Faustus, Fertor, Herius, Hospolis, Hostus, Lar, Marius, Mesius, Mettus, Minatius, Minius, Nero, Novius, Numa, Opiter, Opiavus, Ovius, Pacvius (Paquius), Paullus, Pescennius (Percennius), Petro, plancus, Plautus, pompo, Popidius, Postumus, Primus, Proculus, Retus, Salvius, Secundus, Sertor, Status, Servius, Tertius, Tirrus, Trebius, Tullus, Turus, Volero, Volusus, Vopiscus. personal name Pupus(boy) was used only in relation to children.

The boy received a personal name on the eighth or ninth day after birth. There was a tradition to give a personal name only to the four eldest sons, and ordinal numbers could serve as a personal name for the rest: Quintus(fifth, cf. old Russian. Pyatak), Sextus(sixth, compare Old Russian Shestak), Septimus (seventh, compare Old Russian Semak), Octavius ​​(eighth, compare Old Russian Osmak), and Decimus (tenth). Over time, these names became common (that is, turned into personal ones), and as a result, a person bearing the name Sextus was not necessarily the sixth son in the family. As an example, we can recall the commander Sextus Pompey, the second son of a member of the first triumvirate of Gnaeus Pompey the Great, for a long time fought with Julius Caesar.

Often the eldest son received the father's prenomen. In 230 BC e. this tradition was enshrined by a decree of the senate, so that the personal name of the father began, as a rule, to pass to the eldest son. For example, the emperor Octavian Augustus, like his great-great-grandfather, great-grandfather, grandfather and father, bore the name Guy.

In some genera, a limited number of personal names were used. For example, the Cornelius Scipios had only Gnaeus, Lucius and Publius, the Claudii Neroes had only Tiberius and Decimus, the Domitii Ahenobarbs had only Gnaeus and Lucius.

The personal name of the criminal could be forever excluded from the genus to which he belonged; for this reason, the name Lucius was not used in the patrician family of the Claudians, and the name Mark was used in the patrician family of the Manlievs. By decree of the Senate, the name Mark was permanently excluded from the Antonian clan after the fall of the triumvir Mark Antony.

Nomen

The generic name was the name of the genus and corresponded, approximately, 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 genus Julius); in republican time there are also endings -is, -i. Generic names of non-Roman origin had different endings from those named.

In inscriptions, generic names are usually written in full; in imperial times, only the names of very famous families 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.

The total number of generic names, according to Varro, reached a thousand. Most generic names are of such ancient origin that their meaning has been forgotten. Only a few have certain 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).

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

It is known that the slave share in Rome was very difficult, but this did not affect the names of the slaves, who do not have mocking nicknames. On the contrary, slaves have names Felix And Faustus(happy). Obviously, these nicknames, which became the name, were received only by those slaves whose life was relatively successful. The inscriptions mention: Faust, the baker of Tiberius Germanicus, and Faust, the head 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 possessions of Tiberius Caesar, and another Felix, the overseer in the wool-weaving workshops of Messalina; the daughters of a slave from the house of the Caesars were called Fortunata and Felicia.

Slaves often have a name Ingenus or Ingenuus(freeborn). Slaves born into slavery have names Vitalio And Vitalis(living).

There were no firm rules regarding the names of slaves. Therefore, when buying a slave in an official document, his name was accompanied by a clause "or whatever other name he was called" (lat. 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 is the word servus(slave) always abbreviated ser, very rarely s, it can also stand between two cognomens of the master; there is no strict word order. The word "slave" is often absent altogether; as a rule, slaves do not have it, owned by women. For example, Euticus, Aug(usti) ser(vus), pictor- Euticus, slave of Augustus (imperial slave), painter; Eros, cocus Posidippi, ser(vus)- Eros, cook Posidipp, slave; Idaeus, Valeriae Messalin(ae) supra argentum- Ideas, treasurer of Valeria Messalina.

The sold slave retained the generic name or cognomen of his former master in an altered form with the suffix -an-: Philargyrus librarius Catullianus- Philargir, a scribe bought from Catullus.

Freedmen's names

A freedman (that is, a slave who received freedom) acquired the personal and generic names of the former master, who became his patron, and retained his former name as a cognomen. So, the secretary of Cicero Tyro, freed from slavery, was called: M. tullius M. libertus Tiro- Mark Thulius, a freedman of Mark Tiron. A slave named Apella, set free by Mark Manney Primus, became known as Mark Manney Apella. The slave Bassa, released by Lucius Hostilius Pamphilus, received the name Hostilius Bassa (women did not have premen). Lucius Cornelius Sulla set free ten thousand slaves belonging to persons who died during proscriptions; they all became Lucius Cornelii (the famous "army" of ten thousand "Cornelii").

The inscriptions often contain the names of imperial freedmen: the baker Gaius Julius Eros, the tailor theatrical costumes Tiberius Claudius Dipter, in charge of the triumphal white clothes of the emperor Marcus Cocceus Ambrosius, in charge of the hunting clothes of the emperor Mark Ulpiy Euphrosynus, in charge of the reception of the emperor's friends Marcus Aurelius Succession, 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), a tribe is very rarely indicated: Q(uintus) Serto, Q(uinti) l(ibertus), Antiochus, colonus pauper- Quintus Sertorius Antiochus, freedman of Quintus, poor colon. In rare cases, instead of the personal name of the former master, there is his cognomen: L(ucius) Nerfinius, Potiti l(ibertus), Primus, lardarius- Lucius Nerfinius Primus, freedman of Potitas, sausage maker. Freedmen of the imperial house are abbreviated in the inscriptions Avg l (Avg lib), i.e. Augusti libertus(after a generic name or after a cognomen): L(ucio) Aurelio, Aug(usti) lib(erto), Pyladi, pantomimo temporis sui primo- Lucius Aurelius Pylades, imperial freedman, the first pantomime of his time.

Rarely are freedmen with two cognomens: P(ublius) Decimius, P(ublii) l(ibertus), Eros Merula, medicus clinicus, chirurgus, ocularius- Publius Decimius Eros Merula, a freedman of Publius, general practitioner, surgeon, ophthalmologist.

Freedmen of women in inscriptions are indicated by the abbreviation Ɔ L(the inverted C is a remnant of an archaic female personal name Gaia): L(ucius) Crassicius, Ɔ (= mulieris) l(ibertus), Hermia, medicus veterinarius- Lucius Crassicius Hermia, woman's freedman, veterinarian.

The freedmen of the cities received the name Publicius(from publicus- public) or city name: Aulus Publicius Germanus, Lucius Saepinius Oriens et Lucius Saepinius Orestus- vacationers of the city of Sepina 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 Asklepiad, did not always belong to the doctor: in one inscription there is Asclepiades, Caesar's slave, a marble worker.

Freedmen of corporations retained their names in their names: Freedmen of the Corporation of Patchwork and Tailors ( fabric centonarii) were called Fabricii And Centoni.

see also

Literature

• Kajanto I. The Latin Cognomina. 1985
• Schulze W. Zur Geschichte lateinischer Eigennamen. 1933

Notes

Links

Plan:

• 1 Names of Roman citizens
  • 1.1 Male names
    • 1.1.1 Prenoman
    • 1.1.2 Nomen
    • 1.1.3 Cognomen
    • 1.1.4 Agnomen
  • 1.2 Women's names
• 2 Names of slaves
• 3 Freedmen's names
• 4 See also
Literature

1. Names of Roman citizens

1.1. Male names

In classical times, a full Roman male name usually consisted of three components: a personal name, or prenomen ( praenomen), generic name, or nomen ( nomen), and an individual nickname or name of a branch of the genus, a cognomen ( cognomen).

1.1.1. Prenoman

The personal name was similar to the modern male name. The Romans used a small number of personal names (18 names out of a total of 72); as a rule, they were of such ancient origin that in the classical era the significance of most of them was forgotten. In the inscriptions, personal names were almost always written in abbreviated form (1-3 letters).

Other personal names were rarely used and were usually written in full: Agrippa, Ancus, Annius, Aruns, Atta, Cossus, Denter, Eppius, Faustus, Fertor, Herius, Hospolis, Hostus, Lar, Marius, Mesius, Mettus, Minatius, Minius, Nero, Novius, Numa, Opiter, Opiavus, Ovius, Pacvius (Paquius), Paullus, Pescennius (Percennius), Petro, plancus, Plautus, pompo, Popidius, Postumus, Primus, Proculus, Retus, Salvius, Secundus, Sertor, Status, Servius, Tertius, Tirrus, Trebius, Tullus, Turus, Volero, Volusus, Vopiscus. personal name Pupus(boy) was used only in relation to children.

The boy received a personal name on the eighth or ninth day after birth. There was a tradition to give a personal name only to the four eldest sons, and ordinal numbers could serve as a personal name for the rest: Quintus(fifth, cf. old Russian. Pyatak), Sextus(sixth, compare Old Russian Shestak), Septimus (seventh, compare Old Russian Semak), Octavius ​​(eighth, compare Old Russian Osmak), and Decimus (tenth). Over time, these names became common (that is, turned into personal ones), and as a result, a person bearing the name Sextus was not necessarily the sixth son in the family. As an example, we can recall the commander Sextus Pompey, the second son of a member of the first triumvirate of Gnaeus Pompey the Great, who fought Julius Caesar for a long time.

Often the eldest son received the father's prenomen. In 230 BC e. this tradition was enshrined by a decree of the senate, so that the personal name of the father began, as a rule, to pass to the eldest son. For example, the emperor Octavian Augustus, like his great-great-grandfather, great-grandfather, grandfather and father, bore the name Guy.

In some genera, a limited number of personal names were used. For example, the Cornelius Scipios had only Gnaeus, Lucius and Publius, the Claudii Neroes had only Tiberius and Decimus, the Domitii Ahenobarbs had only Gnaeus and Lucius.

The personal name of the criminal could be forever excluded from the genus to which he belonged; for this reason, the name Lucius was not used in the patrician family of the Claudians, and the name Mark was used in the patrician family of the Manlievs. By decree of the Senate, the name Mark was permanently excluded from the Antonian clan after the fall of the triumvir Mark Antony.

1.1.2. Nomen

and List of plebeian lineages ancient rome.

The family name was the name of the genus 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 genus Julius); in republican time there are also endings -is, -i. Generic names of non-Roman origin had different endings from those named.

In inscriptions, generic names are usually written in full; in imperial times, only the names of very famous families 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.

The total number of generic names, according to Varro, reached a thousand. Most generic names are of such ancient origin that their meaning has been forgotten. Only a few make specific sense: 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, the persons who seized the supreme power began to justify their rights to power by descent from ancient kings and heroes. Julius Caesar, for example, pointed out that his paternal family goes back to the gods: Jupiter - Venus - Aeneas - Yul - the Julius family, and on the mother to the kings: Marcia Rex descended from Anka Marcius (lat. rex- tsar).

1.1.3. cognomen

An individual nickname once given to one of the representatives of the genus often passed on to descendants and became the name of the family or a separate branch of the genus: cicero- Cicero, Caesar- Caesar. For example, the families of Scipio, Rufinus, Lentulus, etc. belonged to the Cornelian clan. The presence of a cognomen is not necessary, and in some plebeian clans (among the Marius, Antonius, Octavius, Sertorii, etc.), personal nicknames, as a rule, were absent. However, the absence of a cognomen was an exception to the rule, since many of the genera of Rome were of such ancient origin that each of them consisted of several branches.

Since the personal name of the father passed 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 the First, Quintus Emilius the Second; in one inscription, the grandfather, son, and grandson are called Quintus Fulvius Rusticus, Quintus Fulvius Attian, and Quintus Fulvius Carisianus.

Cognomens arose much later than personal and generic names, so their meaning is clear in most cases. They can talk about the origin of the clan (the Fufis moved to Rome from the Campanian town of Cales and therefore had a cognomen Calenus), about memorable events (a cognomen appeared in the plebeian family of Muciev Scaevola(left-handed) after in 508 BC. e. during the war with the Etruscans, Gaius Mucius burned his hand on the fire of the brazier, which caused the enemies and their king Porsenna to tremble), about appearance ( Crassus- thick, Laetus- fat, Macer- thin, Celsus- high, Paullus- low, Rufus- ginger, Strabo- cross-eyed, Nasica- sharp-nosed, etc.), about the character ( Severus- cruel, Probus- honest, Lucro- glutton, etc.).

1.1.4. 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 the same family. For example, the famous orator Mark Tullius Cicero, the father and son, were also Mark Tullius Cicero.

Agnomen was most often a personal nickname in the event that 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., became solemnly called African (lat. Africanus, cf. nicknames of Russian commanders - Alexander Nevsky, Dmitry Donskoy, Suvorov-Rymniksky, Potemkin-Tavrichesky). Lucius Aemilius Paullus got a nickname Macedonicus for the victory over the Macedonian king Perseus in 168 BC. e. The dictator Sulla himself added the agnomen to his name. Felix(happy) so its full name became Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix. Agnomen Felix from a personal nickname turned into a hereditary one (consul 52 AD. Faustus Cornelius Sulla Felix).

As a rule, members of ancient and noble families had agnomen, numbering many branches and cognomens. In such genera, the cognomen sometimes almost merged with the generic name and was used inseparably with it for the name of the genus. The well-known plebeian family of Caecilians ( Caecilii) had an ancient cognomen Metellus, whose value is forgotten. This cognomen, as it were, merged with the name of the genus, which became known as Caecilia Metella. Naturally, almost all members of this genus had an agnomen.

The patrician family of Cornelius had many branches. One of the members of this genus received the nickname Scipio(rod, stick), because he was the guide of his blind father and served him, as it were, instead of a staff. cognomen Scipio entrenched in his descendants, over time, Cornelia Scipio took a prominent place in their family and received agnomens. In the III 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 to his son Publius ( Publius Cornelius Scipio Asina). Another representative of the Korneliev Scipio received the nickname Nasica(sharp-nosed), which passed to his descendants and began to serve as the name of a branch of the genus, so that in the genus Cornelius, the Scipio Naziki stood out from the branch of the Scipios. Naturally, the Scipio Nazica received the third cognomen as an individual nickname, so that the full name could already consist of five names: Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Serapio, consul 138 BC. e.; nickname Serapio(from the Egyptian god Serapis) he was given by the people's tribune Curiatius for his resemblance to a dealer in sacrificial animals.

Some people had two generic names, it turned out as a 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 kept his family name in a modified form with the suffix -an-, which took the place of the agnomen. Gaius Octavius, the future emperor Augustus, after his adoption by Gaius Julius Caesar received the name Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus- Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian.

1.2. Women's names

In late republican and imperial times, women did not have personal names, the female name was female form generic name: Tullia- Tullia (from the Tullian clan, for example, daughter of Mark Tullius Cicero), Julia- Julia (from the Julius family, for example, daughter of Gaius Julius Caesar), Cornelia- Cornelia (from the Cornelian family, for example, daughter of Publius Cornelius Scipio). Since all women in the same 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(older); other sisters were called Secunda(second), Tertia(third), Quintilla(fifth), etc.; praenomen Minor was with the youngest.

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

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

In the inscriptions with the names of women, the prenomen 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)- Caecilia Metella, daughter of Quintus Kretik, (wife) Crassus. From the inscription it follows that this woman was the daughter of Quintus Caecilius Metellus Kretikos 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 69 BC, is buried. e., the wife of Crassus, presumably the eldest son of the triumvir Mark Licinius Crassus.

2. Names of slaves

IN ancient times slaves did not have individual names. Legally, slaves were considered the children of the master (more precisely, the slaves were not the subject of law, but the object of law, that is, they were the master's thing) and were just as deprived of rights as all members of the family. This is how the archaic slave names, 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 = Naeos + puer), Olipor (Olos- archaic form of personal name Aulus).

With the growth of slavery, there was a need for personal names for slaves. Most often, slaves kept the name they wore when they still lived as free people. Very often Roman slaves had names Greek origin: Alexander, Antigonus, Hippocrates, Diadumen, Museum, Felodespot, Philokal, Philonik, Eros, etc. Greek names were sometimes given to barbarian slaves.

The name of a slave could indicate his origin or place of birth: Dacus- Dacian, corinthus- Corinthian, Sir (born in Syria), Gallus (born in Gaul), Frix (from Phrygia); are found in the inscriptions slaves with the name Peregrinus- a foreigner.

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

It is known that the slave share in Rome was very difficult, but this did not affect the names of the slaves, who do not have mocking nicknames. On the contrary, slaves have names Felix And Faustus(happy). Obviously, these nicknames, which became the name, were received only by those slaves whose life was relatively successful. The inscriptions mention: Faust, the baker of Tiberius Germanicus, and Faust, the head 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 possessions of Tiberius Caesar, and another Felix, the overseer in the wool-weaving workshops of Messalina; the daughters of a slave from the house of the Caesars were called Fortunata and Felicia.

Slaves often have a name Ingenus or Ingenuus(freeborn). Slaves born into slavery have names Vitalio And Vitalis(living).

There were no firm rules regarding the names of slaves. Therefore, when buying a slave in an official document, his name was accompanied by a clause "or whatever other name he was called" (lat. 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 is the word servus(slave) always abbreviated ser, very rarely s, it can also stand between two cognomens of the master; there is no strict word order. The word "slave" is often absent altogether; as a rule, slaves belonging to women do not have it. For example, Euticus, Aug(usti) ser(vus), pictor- Euthycus, slave of Augustus (imperial slave), painter, Eros, cocus Posidippi, ser(vus)- Eros, cook, Posidipp's slave, Idaeus, Valeriae Messalin(ae) supra argentum- Ideas, treasurer of Valeria Messalina.

The sold slave retained the generic name or cognomen of his former master in an altered form with the suffix -an-: Philargyrus librarius Catullianus- Philargir, a scribe bought from Catullus.

3. Freedmen's names

A freedman (that is, a slave who received freedom) acquired the personal and generic names of the former master, who became his patron, and retained his former name as a cognomen. So, the secretary of Cicero Tyro, freed from slavery, was called: M. tullius M. libertus Tiro- Mark Thulius, a freedman of Mark Tiron. A slave named Apella, set free by Mark Manney Primus, became known as Mark Manney Apella. The slave Bassa, released by Lucius Hostilius Pamphilus, received the name Hostilius Bassa (women did not have premen). Lucius Cornelius Sulla set free ten thousand slaves belonging to persons who died during proscriptions; they all became Lucius Cornelii (the famous "army" of ten thousand Cornelii).

The inscriptions often contain the names of imperial freedmen: the baker Gaius Julius Eros, the tailor of theatrical costumes Tiberius Claudius Dipterus, Marcus Cocceus Ambrosius, who was in charge of the emperor’s triumphal white clothes, Marcus Ulpius Euphrosinus, who was in charge of the emperor’s hunting clothes, Marcus Aurelius Succession, who was in charge of receiving the emperor’s friends, 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), a tribe is very rarely indicated: Q(uintus) Serto, Q(uinti) l(ibertus), Antiochus, colonus pauper- Quintus Sertorius Antiochus, freedman of Quintus, poor colonel. In rare cases, instead of the personal name of the former master, there is his cognomen: L(ucius) Nerfinius, Potiti l(ibertus), Primus, lardarius- Lucius Nerfinius Primus, freedman of Potitas, sausage maker. Freedmen of the imperial house are abbreviated in the inscriptions Avg l (Avg lib), i.e. Augusti libertus(after a generic name or after a cognomen): L(ucio) Aurelio, Aug(usti) lib(erto), Pyladi, pantomimo temporis sui primo- Lucius Aurelius Pylades, imperial freedman, the first pantomime of his time.

Rarely are freedmen with two cognomens: P(ublius) Decimius, P(ublii) l(ibertus), Eros Merula, medicus clinicus, chirurgus, ocularius- Publius Decimius Eros Merula, a freedman of Publius, general practitioner, surgeon, ophthalmologist.

Freedmen of women in inscriptions are indicated by the abbreviation Ɔ L(the inverted C is a remnant of an archaic female personal name Gaia): L(ucius) Crassicius, Ɔ (= mulieris) l(ibertus), Hermia, medicus veterinarius- Lucius Crassicius Hermia, woman's freedman, veterinarian.

The freedmen of the cities received the name Publicius(from publicus- public) or city name: Aulus Publicius Germanus, Lucius Saepinius Oriens et Lucius Saepinius Orestus- vacationers of the city of Sepina 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 Asklepiad, did not always belong to the doctor: in one inscription there is Asclepiades, Caesar's slave, a marble worker.

Freedmen of corporations retained their names in their names: Freedmen of the Corporation of Patchwork and Tailors ( fabri centonarii,

Names of Roman citizens

Male names

In classical times, a full Roman male name usually consisted of three components: a personal name, or prenomen ( praenomen), generic name, or nomen ( nomen), and an individual nickname or name of a branch of the genus, a cognomen ( cognomen).

Praenomenon

The personal name was similar to the modern male name. The Romans used a small number of personal names (18 names out of a total of 72); as a rule, they were of such ancient origin that in the classical era the significance of most of them was forgotten. In the inscriptions, personal names were almost always written in abbreviated form (1-3 letters).

Other personal names were rarely used and were usually written in full: Agrippa, Ancus, Annius, Aruns, Atta, Cossus, Denter, Eppius, Faustus, Fertor, Herius, Hospolis, Hostus, Lar, Marius, Mesius, Mettus, Minatius, Minius, Nero, Novius, Numa, Opiter, Opiavus, Ovius, Pacvius (Paquius), Paullus, Pescennius (Percennius), Petro, plancus, Plautus, pompo, Popidius, Postumus, Primus, Proculus, Retus, Salvius, Secundus, Sertor, Status, Servius, Tertius, Tirrus, Trebius, Tullus, Turus, Volero, Volusus, Vopiscus. personal name Pupus(boy) was used only in relation to children.

The boy received a personal name on the eighth or ninth day after birth. There was a tradition to give a personal name only to the four eldest sons, and ordinal numbers could serve as a personal name for the rest: Quintus(fifth), Sextus(sixth), Septimus (seventh), Octavius ​​(eighth), and Decimus (tenth). Over time, these names became common (i.e., turned into personal ones), and as a result, a person bearing the name Sextus was not necessarily the sixth son in the family. As an example, we can recall the commander Sextus Pompey, the second son of a member of the first triumvirate of Gnaeus Pompey the Great, who fought with for a long time.

Often the eldest son received the father's prenomen. This tradition was enshrined in a decree, so that the personal name of the father began, as a rule, to pass to the eldest son. For example, the emperor bore, like his great-great-grandfather, great-grandfather, grandfather and father, the name Guy.

In some genera, a limited number of personal names were used. For example, the Cornelii had only Gnaeus, Lucius and Publius, the Claudii Neroes had only Tiberius and Decimus, the Domitii Ahenobarbs had only Gnaeus and Lucius.

The personal name of the criminal could be forever excluded from the genus to which he belonged; for this reason, the name Lucius was not used in the Claudian family, and the name Mark in the patrician family of Manliev. By decree of the Senate, the name Mark was permanently excluded from the Antonian clan after the fall of Mark Antony.

Nomen

The family name was the name of the genus 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 genus Julius); in republican time there are also endings -is, -i. Generic names of non-Roman origin had different endings from those named.

In inscriptions, generic names are usually written in full; in imperial times, only the names of very famous families 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.

The total number of generic names, according to, reached a thousand. Most generic names are of such ancient origin that their meaning has been forgotten. Only a few make specific sense: 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, the persons who seized the supreme power began to justify their rights to power by descent from ancient kings and heroes. Julius Caesar, for example, pointed out that his paternal family goes back to the gods: Jupiter - Venus - Aeneas - Yul - the Julius family, and on the mother to the kings: Marcia Rex descended from Anka Marcius (lat. rex- tsar).

cognomen

An individual nickname once given to one of the representatives of the genus often passed on to descendants and became the name of the family or a separate branch of the genus: cicero- Cicero, Caesar- Caesar. For example, the families of Scipio, Rufinus, Lentulus, etc. belonged to the Cornelian clan. The presence of a cognomen is not necessary, and in some plebeian clans (among the Marius, Antonius, Octavius, Sertorii, etc.), personal nicknames, as a rule, were absent. However, the absence of a cognomen was an exception to the rule, since many of the genera of Rome were of such ancient origin that each of them consisted of several branches.

Since the personal name of the father passed 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 the First, Quintus Emilius the Second; in one inscription, the grandfather, son, and grandson are called Quintus Fulvius Rusticus, Quintus Fulvius Attian, and Quintus Fulvius Carisianus.

Cognomens arose much later than personal and generic names, so their meaning is clear in most cases. They can talk about the origin of the clan (the Fufis moved to Rome from the Campanian town of Cales and therefore had a cognomen Calenus), about memorable events (a cognomen appeared in the plebeian family of Muciev Scaevola(left-handed) after in 508 BC. e. during the war with the Etruscans, Gaius Mucius burned his hand on the fire of the brazier, which caused the enemies and their king Porsenna to tremble), about appearance ( Crassus- thick, Laetus- fat, Macer- thin, Celsus- high, Paullus- low, Rufus- ginger, Strabo- cross-eyed, Nasica- sharp-nosed, etc.), about the character ( Severus- cruel, Probus- honest, Lucro- glutton, 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 the same family. For example, the famous orator Mark Tullius Cicero, the father and son, were also Mark Tullius Cicero.

Agnomen was most often a personal nickname in the event that the cognomen was hereditary. Sometimes a Roman received an agnomen for some special merit. in honor of the victory he won over in, became solemnly called African (lat. Africanus, cf. nicknames of Russian commanders - Alexander Nevsky, Dmitry Donskoy, Suvorov Rymniksky, Potemkin Tauride). Lucius Aemilius Paullus got a nickname Macedonicus for the victory over the Macedonian king Perseus in the Dictator Sulla himself added the agnomen to his name Felix(lucky) so his full name became Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix. Agnomen Felix from a personal nickname turned into a hereditary one (consul Faustus Cornelius Sulla Felix).

As a rule, members of ancient and noble families had agnomen, numbering many branches and cognomens. In such genera, the cognomen sometimes almost merged with the generic name and was used inseparably with it for the name of the genus. The well-known plebeian family of Caecilians ( Caecilii) had an ancient cognomen Metellus, whose value is forgotten. This cognomen, as it were, merged with the name of the genus, which became known as Caecilia Metella. Naturally, almost all members of this genus had an agnomen.

The patrician family of Cornelius had many branches. One of the members of this genus received the nickname Scipio(rod, stick), because he was the guide of his blind father and served him, as it were, instead of a staff. cognomen Scipio entrenched in his descendants, over time, Cornelia Scipio took a prominent place in their family and received agnomens. In 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 to his son Publius ( Publius Cornelius Scipio Asina). Another representative of the Korneliev Scipio received the nickname Nasica(sharp-nosed), which passed to his descendants and began to serve as the name of a branch of the genus, so that in the genus Cornelius, the Scipio Naziki stood out from the branch of the Scipios. Naturally, the Scipio Nazica received the third cognomen as an individual nickname, so that the full name could already consist of five names: Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Serapio, consul; nickname Serapio(from the Egyptian god) he was given by the popular tribune Curiatius for his resemblance to a dealer in sacrificial animals.

Some people had two generic names, it turned out as a 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 kept his family name in a modified form with the suffix -an-, which took the place of the agnomen. Gaius Octavius, the future emperor Augustus, after his adoption by Gaius Julius Caesar received the name Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus- Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian.

Women's 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 Tullian clan, for example, daughter), Julia- Julia (from the Yuliev clan, for example, daughter), Cornelia- Cornelia (from the Cornelian family, for example, daughter of Publius Cornelius Scipio). Since all women in the same 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(older); other sisters were called Secunda(second), Tertia(third), Quintilla(fifth), etc.; praenomen Minor was with the youngest.

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

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

In the inscriptions with the names of women, the prenomen 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)- Caecilia Metella, daughter of Quintus Kretik, (wife) Crassus. From the inscription it follows that this woman was the daughter of Quintus Caecilius Metellus Kretikos 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, wife of Crassus, presumably the eldest son of the triumvir Marcus Licinius Crassus, is buried.

Slave names

In ancient times, slaves did not have individual names. Legally, slaves were considered children of the master and were just as deprived of rights as all members of the family. This is how archaic slave names were formed, made up 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 = Naeos + puer), Olipor (Olos- archaic form of personal name Aulus).

With the growth of slavery, there was a need 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, Philokal, Philonik, Eros, and others. Greek names were sometimes given to barbarian slaves.

The name of a slave could indicate his origin or place of birth: Dacus- Dacian, corinthus- Corinthian, Sir (native), Gallus (native), Frix (from); are found in the inscriptions slaves with the name Peregrinus- a foreigner.

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

It is known that the slave share in Rome was very difficult, but this did not affect the names of the slaves, who do not have mocking nicknames. On the contrary, slaves have names Felix And Faustus(happy). Obviously, these nicknames, which became the name, were received only by those slaves whose life was relatively successful. The inscriptions mention: Faust, the baker of Tiberius Germanicus, and Faust, the head 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 possessions of Tiberius Caesar, and another Felix, the overseer in the wool-weaving workshops of Messalina; the daughters of a slave from the house of the Caesars were called Fortunata and Felicia.

Slaves often have a name Ingenus or Ingenuus(freeborn). Slaves born into slavery have names Vitalio And Vitalis(living).

There were no firm rules regarding the names of slaves. Therefore, when buying a slave in an official document, his name was accompanied by a clause "or whatever other name he was called" (lat. 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 is the word servus(slave) always abbreviated ser, very rarely s, it can also stand between two cognomens of the master; there is no strict word order. The word "slave" is often absent altogether; as a rule, slaves belonging to women do not have it. For example, Euticus, Aug(usti) ser(vus), pictor- Euthycus, slave of Augustus (imperial slave), painter, Eros, cocus Posidippi, ser(vus)- Eros, cook, Posidipp's slave, Idaeus, Valeriae Messalin(ae) supra argentum- Ideas, treasurer of Valeria Messalina.

The sold slave retained the generic name or cognomen of his former master in an altered form with the suffix -an-: Philargyrus librarius Catullianus- Philargir, a scribe bought from Catullus.

Freedmen's names

A freedman (that is, a slave who received freedom) acquired the personal and generic names of the former master, who became his patron, and retained his former name as a cognomen. So, the secretary of Cicero Tyro, freed from slavery, was called: M. tullius M. libertus Tiro- Mark Thulius, a freedman of Mark Tiron. A slave named Apella, set free by Mark Manney Primus, became known as Mark Manney Apella. The slave Bassa, released by Lucius Hostilius Pamphilus, received the name Hostilius Bassa (women did not have premen). Lucius Cornelius Sulla set free ten thousand slaves belonging to persons who died during proscriptions; they all became Lucius Cornelii (the famous "army" of ten thousand Cornelii).

The inscriptions often contain the names of imperial freedmen: the baker Gaius Julius Eros, the tailor of theatrical costumes Tiberius Claudius Dipterus, Marcus Cocceus Ambrosius, who was in charge of the emperor’s triumphal white clothes, Marcus Ulpius Euphrosinus, who was in charge of the emperor’s hunting clothes, Marcus Aurelius Succession, who was in charge of receiving the emperor’s friends, 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), a tribe is very rarely indicated: Q(uintus) Serto, Q(uinti) l(ibertus), Antiochus, colonus pauper- Quintus Sertorius Antiochus, freedman of Quintus, poor colonel. In rare cases, instead of the personal name of the former master, there is his cognomen: L(ucius) Nerfinius, Potiti l(ibertus), Primus, lardarius- Lucius Nerfinius Primus, freedman of Potitas, sausage maker. Freedmen of the imperial house are abbreviated in the inscriptions Avg l (Avg lib), i.e. Augusti libertus(after a generic name or after a cognomen): L(ucio) Aurelio, Aug(usti) lib(erto), Pyladi, pantomimo temporis sui primo- Lucius Aurelius Pylades, imperial freedman, the first pantomime of his time.

Rarely are freedmen with two cognomens: P(ublius) Decimius, P(ublii) l(ibertus), Eros Merula, medicus clinicus, chirurgus, ocularius- Publius Decimius Eros Merula, a freedman of Publius, general practitioner, surgeon, ophthalmologist.

Freedmen of women in inscriptions are indicated by the abbreviation Ɔ L(the inverted C is a remnant of an archaic female personal name Gaia): L(ucius) Crassicius, Ɔ (= mulieris) l(ibertus), Hermia, medicus veterinarius- Lucius Crassicius Hermia, woman's freedman, veterinarian.

The freedmen of the cities received the name Publicius(from publicus- public) or city name: Aulus Publicius Germanus, Lucius Saepinius Oriens et Lucius Saepinius Orestus- vacationers of the city of Sepina 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 Asklepiad, did not always belong to the doctor: in one inscription there is Asclepiades, Caesar's slave, a marble worker.

Freedmen of corporations retained their names in their names: Freedmen of the Corporation of Patchwork and Tailors ( fabric centonarii) were called Fabricii And Centoni.

The name of a free citizen of ancient Rome traditionally consisted of three parts: a personal name or pronomen, a family name or nomen, a nickname or cognomen. There were few personal ancient Roman names. Of the 72 that have survived to our time, only 18 were most often used. Personal names were indicated in the letter, since they did not carry much information about the origin and life of a person. by the most popular names were: Aulus, Appius, Gaius, Gnaeus, Decimus, Caeson, Lucius, Mark, Manius, Mamercus, Numerius, Publius, Quintus, Sextus, Servius, Spurius, Titus, Tiberius. The genus name and nickname were written in full. Generic names had numerous variations. Historians number about a thousand Roman nomens. Some of them had a specific meaning, for example: Portia - "pig", Fabius - "bean", Caecilius - "blind", etc.

Generic nicknames testified to the high origin of the Roman. Citizens from the plebeian, lower strata of society, such as the military, did not have it. In the ancient patrician families, there were a large number of branches. Each of them was given a nickname. The choice of a cognomen was often based on the characteristics of a person's appearance or character. For example, Cicero got his nickname from one of his ancestors, whose nose was like a pea (cicero).

How were names given in ancient Rome?

According to the established tradition, personal names were assigned to the four eldest sons, with the first of them receiving the name of the father. If there were many sons in the family, then everyone, starting with the fifth, received names denoting ordinal numbers: Quintus (“Fifth”), Sextus (“Sixth”), etc. Also, the boy was given the name and nickname of the clan, if only he came from a noble family.

If a child was born from a mistress or after the death of his father, then he was given the name Spurius, "illegitimate, controversial." The name was abbreviated with the letter S. Such children did not legally have a father and were considered members of the civilian community in which their mother was a member.

Girls were called by their father's generic name in the form female. For example, Gaius Julius Caesar's daughter was called Julia, and Mark Tullius Cicero's was Tullia. If there were several daughters in the family, then a prenomen was added to the girl’s personal name: Major (“older”), Minor (“younger”), and further down the account Tertia (“third”), Quintilla (“fifth”), etc. When marrying, a woman, in addition to her personal name, received her husband's nickname, for example: Cornelia filia Cornelli Gracchi, which means "Cornelia, daughter of Cornelia, wife of Gracchus."

The slave was given a name according to the area from which he was born (“Sir, from Syria”), according to the names of the heroes of ancient Roman myths (“Achilles”), or according to the name of plants or precious stones("Adamant"). Slaves who did not have personal names were often named according to their owner, for example: Marcipuer, which means "Mark's slave". If a slave was granted freedom, he received a personal and family name former owner, and the personal name became a nickname. For example, when Cicero freed his secretary Tiron from slavery, he became known as M Tullius M libertus Tiro, which means "Mark Tulius former slave Mark Tyrone.