Roman Middle Names: Learn the Cool Ways Romans Used Their Names.

Okay, so I’ve been digging into this whole Roman middle names thing, and let me tell you, it’s a bit of a rabbit hole. Started off just curious, you know? I mean, we all hear about these famous Roman names like “Gaius Julius Caesar” and “Marcus Aurelius,” but what’s the deal with that middle name?

So, first thing I did was just a simple search. Found out that in ancient Rome, a lot of folks, especially the guys, had at least two names, and sometimes even three or more! The first name was called the “praenomen.” Think of it like our first names today, pretty straightforward. Then there’s the “nomen,” which is like the family name. If you see a name ending in “-ius,” that’s probably a nomen. For example, “Julius” in “Gaius Julius Caesar” is the nomen, indicating that he belonged to the “Julia” family.

Roman Middle Names: Learn the Cool Ways Romans Used Their Names.

Now, here’s where it gets interesting – the middle name, or as the Romans called it, the “cognomen.” This one usually started as a nickname or something that described a particular branch of the family. Like, maybe one branch of the family was known for being good at farming or something, and their cognomen reflected that. Over time, it became a hereditary name, passed down through generations.

  • Praenomen: Personal name (like our first name)
  • Nomen: Family name (often ends in “-ius”)
  • Cognomen: Branch of the family name (started as a nickname)

I also found out that sometimes there’s something called a “filiation.” And in the documents I read, it seemed to be the name of the father, or even the mother. And at the end of the Roman Republic, they even added the name of the voting tribe! Imagine having to write all that out every time you signed something.

And some other names I found, like “Aelius” or “Aelianus,” were also used as middle names, and they had their own feminine forms, too. I tried to find out more about those, but it started to get really complicated with all the different family branches and stuff. This happened often when I was trying to collect more information.

So, I’m still piecing it all together. I did a bunch of searches and tried to organize all the different parts of Roman names, but it’s a lot to take in. It’s pretty cool, though, to see how names worked back then. It’s like a little window into their society and how they thought about family and identity. I’ve spent hours on this already, and I feel like I’ve only scratched the surface. I might even try to make some sort of chart or diagram to keep it all straight. If I make any more progress, I’ll definitely share it here. It is interesting!

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