Republican and Imperial Roman men had names composed of three parts: a praenomen, nomen, and cognomen.
The praenomen was the given name chosen, from a limited pool of names, by the parents. So common were these names, that they were often abbreviated to a single letter on inscriptions
(G = Gaius, M = Marcus, Q = Quintus).
The nomen was the name of the gens, or family clan, roughly equivalent to our modern surnames. Notable gens included the Julii, Claudii and Valerii. Women were given feminine form of their father's nomen.
The cognomen began as a nickname, but quickly became hereditary and indicated the branch of a clan to which a man belonged. Some designated place of origin (Sebastianus = from Sebastia), occupation (Figulus = potter), or physical trait (Flavus = blond haired).
Later an agnomen was sometimes added which designated maternal family connections, adopted family names, or honorific titles (Magus = great, Augustus = venerable).
"Late Roman" names were used in the Byzantine Empire during Late Antiquity. One notable convention was the use of Greek names, as the Eastern Empire was predominantly Greek-speaking, while Latin names represented desired attributed or virtues (Amabilis = lovable, Beatus = blessed).
Listed below is a selection of names that we have inherited from the Romans, from the Republic to the Eastern Empire.
Aegidius Aelius Agrippa Alban Albius Albus Amabilis Amadeus Amator Angelus Antonius Arrius Artorius Atticus Augustus Aurelian Aurelius Benedict Boniface Brutus Caesar Caius Calixtus Cassian Cassius Cato Cicero Claudian Claudius Clement Columbus Constantine Cornelian Cornelius Crispin Crispinus |
Decimus Dominic Domitius Donatus Drusus Fabian Fabius Felix Festus Flavian Flavius Fulvius Gaius Gnaeus Hadrian Horatius (Horatio) Ignatius Isidore Jovian Jovinus Julian Julius Junius Juvenal Justin Leonius Livius Lucan Lucian Lucius Lupus Magnus Marcellus Marcus Marius Martial |
Maximilian Maximian Maximus Nonus Octavian Octavius Ovid Pastor Peregrine Pius Pompey Primus Prosper Quartus Quintus Quirinus Regulus Renatus Rufus Salvator Sebastian Secundus Septimus Severus Sextus Silvester Tertius Tiberius Titus Trajan Urban Valens Valerian Victor Virgil Vitalis |
Aelia Aeliana Alba Albia Amabilia Amanda Amata Angela Annia Antonia Antonina Aquila Aquilina Arria Artoria Atia Atilia Augusta Augustina Aula Aurea Aurelia Aureliana Beata Beatrix Benedicta Calidia Calixta Camilla Candida Cassia Cecilia Celia Celina Clara Claudia |
Clementina Cloelia Constantia Constantina Cornelia Crescentia Decima Delphina Dominica Drusilla Fabia Faustina Felicia Feliciana Flavia Florentia Florentina Gratia Hadriana Helena Honoria Horatia Hortensia Isaura Julia Juliana Junia Justina Laelia Laetitia Leocadia Leonia Livia Liviana Livilla Lucia |
Luciana Lucilla Lucretia Lydia Marcella Mariana Marina Martina Matrona Maxima Natalia Nona Octavia Patricia Paulina Perpetua Portia Prisca Priscilla Quirina Regina Renata Sabina Secunda Septima Seraphina Serena Silvia Sybilla Tatiana Tullia Ursula Valentina Victoria Virginia Viviana |