Next time you see what you think is a Roman name, but all that's there is an initial, you'll know which praenomen (Roman first name) it is.
Difficulty: Easy
Time Required: 5 minutes
Here's How:
- A. = Aulus
- App. = Appius
- C. = Gaius
- Cn. = Gnaeus
- D. = Decimus
- L. = Lucius
- M. = Marcus
- P. = Publius
- Q. = Quintus
- Ser. = Servius
- T. = Titus
- Ti. = Tiberius
Tips:
- The abbreviated bit is the praenomen (plural, praenomina). After it came the nomen (plural, nomina), which was originally the man's clan or gens name, and then a nickname called the cognomen (plural, cognomina), which he could pass on to his sons.
- The nomina were so common they didn't give much help identifying an individual. As a result, they were often dispensed with. C. Caesar is an example of praenomen and cognomen, without the nomen Julius.
- A lower case f stands for filius, and accompanies the praenomen name of the man's father. L. f. would be son of Lucius. C. f. would be son of Gaius.
