ROMAN NAMES ... FOR DUMMIES
Welcome, visitor! If you have come to this section, it means that you have some questions regarding the choice of a suitable Roman name. Don't worry, we'll help you out.
INTRODUCTION
Most Romans had two or three names, and some of them had even more. As a general guideline, the Societas strongly discourages the following: picking over three or four names and choosing the names of Gods or sanctified persons.
Also, note that the Romans did not know the characters "j" and "w"'. Therefore, names such as Julius become Iulius automatically, or names such as Odowacer become Odoacer. For more detailed explanation in choosing your name, see below. In order to produce the sound of a "w" however, you can use a "v", which was pronounced similarily. The letter "h" did exist in Latin, but was frequently not used. Because of this, names such as Iohannes can also be written as Ioannes. In some cases, the diphtongue "au" was also shortened to "o". This explains why the name Claudius can also be Clodius. Take notice that the "y" did exist, but was pronounced as the "u" in "but", and cannot be used to represent the "i".
If you intend to name yourself after a famous Roman or classical personality, choose your name wisely. For example, if you choose the name Gaius Iulius Caesar, it would be a little silly if you would later appear a pacificst. In a similar fashion, choosing the name Tiberius Gracchus if you have a conservative nature is somewhat of a contradiction. Therefore, we suggest that you do some research first, if you want to have a famous name.
Exceptions to some rules are allowed, if they are accompanied by a decent argumentation.
PRAENOMINA
The praenomen, or surname, was a Roman's first name. While they can hardly be said to be creative in their selection of first names, in later times the variation grew wider due to the influence from other parts of the empire such as Egypt, Greece, Britannia or other places more distant from Rome itself.
For men, following traditional Roman names were widely used: Gaius (archaic variant: Caius), Gnaeus or Gnaius (with Cnaeus or Cnaius as ancient variant), Lucius, Marcus, Albius, Titus, Spurius or Manius. Names that were actually references to numbers were also popular (square brackets indicate a less frequent use): Primus, Secundus, Tertius, [Quartus], Quintus, Sextus, Septimus, Octavius, [Nonus] or Decimus. The Societas encourages the use of these traditional names.
The Societas also accepts plausible latinisations of modern names, as frequently happened in medieval times, and most ancient Greek, Egyptic, Phoenician or Babylonian names are also accepted, if they are Latin in form, an can be declined. A few examples: Alexander, Hektor, Sokrates, Iohannes, Achilleus, Maharbal, Hannibal, Zenobia, Midas, or Cyrus. In some cases, Greek names can keep their natural endings on –os instead of the Latin equivalent ending on –us: Homeros, Athanasios or Theodoros.
Latin was a very pragmatic language, which shows in gender differentiations. For most female names, all you have to do is strip the –us away and add –ia or –a to the stem. For example: Lucia, Marcia, Gaia, Prima or Decima. For more exotic names, adding –ia works in most cases, but for Greek names –eia or –è are better used to add to the stem of a name (in some cases, the stem is the word itself). This is not so easy, so if you have any doubts or questions about this, it is best to e-mail the Censores first. Same goes if you would like to have a name that is not selectable from the list.
NOMEN
The middle name of a Roman showed to which gens, or descendance, that person belonged. Since most of our members are not tied by blood, and in later times, people with the same middle name often did not know each other, the selection of a middle name is free, and no acceptance by the other members of the same gens is required, unless their gens has been registered as organised. This can be checked at the Album Sodalium ("List of Members").
A limited selection from the most known gens names to give you an idea (the word gens is a female word, so all following nomina are written in their female form): Claudia, Maria, Cornelia, Aemilia, Flavia, Ulpia, Arminia, Marcia or Octavia. There were a lot more existent in ancient Rome, of course. For obvious reasons, the selection of nomina that are too much resembling of selected praenomina is discouraged.
Exotic names are also allowed, if they are declinable and are acceptable Latin in form. A few names non-Roman in origin have become quite known throughout history, and together with those lesser known names, they are usually acceptable as well. Some examples: Apollonia, Tarquinia, Dionysia, Iosepha or Atheniensis.
In order to get the male version of these names, it suffices in most cases to strip away the –a and add –us. Names ending on –is remain unchanged in their male form.
COGNOMINA
The cognomen, or nickname, as it's called, is the most personal choice, and also the most free. In ancient times, this name was passed on in the close family only, in order to be able to differentiate between several branches of a gens. If you already have a relative, or a very intimate friend (or partner) in the Societas, we suggest that you adopt the same cognomen as your predecessor, for the sake of historicity.
Cognomina usually referred to remarkable physical traits; for example: Flavus (blonde), Rufus (redhead), Cicero (pea), Parvus (small), Magnus (big). They could also refer to special qualities: Aquila (eagle), Draco (dragon), Agricola (farmer), Florus (flowery), Iuvenalis (youthful), Severus (severe) or Pius (pious). In later times, these two categories were joined by a third one, that referred to a person's specific ethnic heritage: Germanicus (German), Britannicus (British), Dalmaticus (Dalmatian), Sarmaticus (Russian), Gallus (Gaul), Niger (black), or Barbarus (barbarian).
As there is a wide variety in cognomina, both in spelling and form, most choices will be acceptable, if they meet the requirements set in both the Regula and the introduction of this page. Since most members will probably refer to you by your nickname, choose that name wisely. It can tell something about your character, heritage, profession or looks, and does play somewhat of a psychological role.
AGNOMINA
The fourth type of name is the agnomen (added name), usually a name that was added later. Usually, this was done to make a distinction between two members of the same family bearing the same name. For example, a man named Gaius Caecilius Rufus could have a nephew with the same name. If that was the case, former was referred to as Rufus Maior (the older Rufus) and the younger one, quite logically, as Rufus Minor. For women, these names of age distinctions remain the same.
In special cases, however, agnomina were granted by the Senate, or by the public, for a special achievement one would have proven to the Roman people. The renowned general Scipio, for example, was awarded with the agnomen of Africanus, because of his campaigns against the Carthaginians. Take note that agnomina were not inheritable.
In the Societas, one is free to select an added name for himself. We suggest, however, that this is only done in special cases, when you are for example in dubio between two cognomina, and then use the other one as your agnomen. In most cases, however, people may take some offence at the use of an added name that they feel is undeserved. On special occasions, agnomina can be granted to a certain member by the Senate or the Censores, as a proof of exceptional merit.
UPON SAYING GOODBYE…
If you have any more questions on the selection of a name, we advise you to contact the Censores. If they are having a good day, and haven't just crawled out of their beds, they will be very likely to help you. Bribery also helps. Seriously. ;-)
Gn. Dionysius Scorpio Invictus (Censor 2754-2756)