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 Level: Time Required: 5 minutes
Here's How:
- A. = Aulus
- App. = Appius
- C. = Gaius [See Latin Alphabet Changes]
- Cn. = Gnaeus
- D. = Decimus
- L. = Lucius
- M. = Marcus
- P. = Publius
- Q. = Quintus
- Ser. = Servius
- T. = Titus
- Ti. = Tiberius
- After the praenomen (plural, praenomina ), was the nomen, which was originally the man's clan or gens name, and a nickname called the cognomen, which he could pass on to his sons.
- The nomina were too common to help identify an individual, so they were often dispensed with. Hence, 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.
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