Long Roman names

[derek forrest]

How about this David Mason in his excellent Roman Chester City of Eagles cites a possible 2nd cent Legate of the XXth as "Titus Pomponius Mamilianus Rufus Antistianus Funisulanus Vettonianus" Anybody know a longer name? <p></p><i></i>

[Caius Fabius]

Roman names of 5 or 6 names ar not uncommon in the 2nd century, for example, but your Rufus probably has more letters than most.<br>
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Other examples from "A Biography of Marcus Aurelius", by Anthony Birley (which is what I'm reading at the second), lists other long names....<br>
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here are a few:<br>
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Titus Aurelius Fulvus Boionius Arrius Antoninus Pius,<br>
Caius Ummidius Quadratus Sertorius Serverus,<br>
Lucius Catalius Severus Julianus Claudius Reginus,<br>
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They would be longer if you add their official titles. If you want a really long name try all the proper names and titles of "Augustus Caesar"!<br>
<p>"Just before class started, I looked in the big book where all the world's history is written, and it said...." Neil J. Hackett, PhD ancient history, professor OSU, 1987</p><i></i>

[John Maddox Roberts]

It's not longer, but way back in the Republic there was Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius Scipio Nasica. <p></p><i></i>

[Catiline]

The longest imperial title I could find, discounting number is 36 words long. It's maximian, who on abdication was...<br>
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Imperator Caesar Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maximianus Pius Felix Invictus Augustus, Pontifex Maximus, Herculius, Germanicus Maximus V, Sarmaticus Maximus III, Persicus Maximus II, Brittanicus Maximus, Carpicus Maximus, Armenicus Maximus, Medicus maximus, Adiabencus Maximus, Tribuniciae potestatis XXI, Consul IX, Imperator XX, Pater Patriae, Proconsul.<br>
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Diocletian comes in 2nd with 33.<br>
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Elagabalus does well with 29, and that includes only one maximus. But then when you're Sol invictus you probably don't neeed to tell people you're great anymore <p></p><i></i>

[FAVENTIANVS]

When I was a kid, There was a Brazilian tv movie with it's main caracter called: FELIPPI DI AUCANTARA PEREIRA BARRETU.

:lol: :roll: :lol: :roll:

[LUCIUS ALFENUS AVITIANUS]

Salve

Faventianus, that is military history and archaology and not "humour's festival" section.

Roman name was normally made by 3 parts Praenomen (choosen by a short list of them, like Caius, Lucius, etc), Nomen (designing the family) and cognomen (designing the person). Other names were the name of father, tribu, or a nickname.

Imperial names were very long, because sometimes were made to provide some kind of "validation", to give a dinasticall sense to the individual emperor. In our days the names of the royals familys are longer than normal, too.

Vale

[FAVENTIANVS]

Yes, and Matt Amt reffers , in his web page, to a Thrcian auxiliary called BASSA, who, when entering the Roman army modified his name to TITVS FLAVIVS BASSVS.

Otherwise, the cognomen could, appart from being a nick name or a second familly branch, be the gentilitius or the geographical origin of the bearer.

You see AVI, I can be serious too... :mrgreen:

[Aryaman2]

Catiline
The imperial title is not really a name, as it included titles like Pontifex Maximus or Consul, while others like Armenicus normally reflected victories (real or propagandistical) over those nations
As for the real names, in the I and II century longer names mean some kind of adoption, for example L Corneius Nigrinus Curiatius Maternus, was in fact L Curiatius Maternus adopted by Cn Cornelius Nigrinus. It become a sort of aristocratic mark, and as you could be adopted by someone who had been adopted himslef, the number of names could in fact multiply

[Malko Linge]

How do you like the consul of AD 108 Q. Roscius Coelius Murena Silius Decianus Vibullius Pius Iulius Eurycles Herculanus Pompeius Falco. He came possible from Sicily. The name Coelius Murena came also from a Sicily senator family. Silius Decianus was a son of the consul from AD 68 Silius Italicus. Vibullius Pius Iulius Eurycles Herculanus this names came from a royal spartan family.
Marcus Cornelius Nigrinus Curatius Maternus. His real Name was Cornelius Nigrinus, who was adopted by a Curatius Maternus or it was a maternal name of his family. 8)

[Aryaman2]

Malko Linge
Really? Do you have Syme´s article on Nigrinus? it is a long time since I read it, so you are probably right[/quote]

[hansvl]

Yes, and Matt Amt reffers , in his web page, to a Thrcian auxiliary called BASSA, who, when entering the Roman army modified his name to TITVS FLAVIVS BASSVS.

Citizenship was needed if you wanted to join a legion. Auxiliaries were granted citizenship at their missio honesta, so if they wished they could then enlist into a legion (but who would want that after already 25-30 years in the military?)
But sometimes that citizenship was granted ('by the emperor') to peregrini upon enlistment. It was a custom to take the praenomen and gentilicium of that emperor (see Bassus), and to choose his own cognomen. His own peregrinus-name (which was latinized if nessecary) is then an obvious choise, but sometimes a whole new cognomen was prefered.

My year-work promotor at uni thought it was a 'fun' idea to investigate if within all the cognomina of legionary soldiers there was a preference for 'military' names like Victor, Fortis, Martialis,... The end-goal was to see if it was possible to distill those 'new' citizen-soldiers by this preference.

I did a case study (with a comparitive part) on legionaries from the 'Italian' regions and legionaries from Northern Africa.

The conclusion wasn't what my promotor had hoped for. Those 'military' sounding cognomina were equally popular (or not popular) with the civilian population as with the military population. The cognomina of legionaries followed the normal spectrum of cognomina in those investigated regions. So two years of dusty study of the CIL and the likes and nothing to show for...

Oh those were the happy days :lol:

Hans

[Vincula]

So two years of dusty study of the CIL and the likes and nothing to show for...

disproving a theory is just as important as proving one, hans :wink:

[Malko Linge]

About Cornelius Nigrinus I have the articles from Geza Alföldy and Helmut Halfmann"M. Cornelius Nigrinus Curatius Maternus General Domitians und Rivale Traians", Chiron 3 and Ronald Syme`s articles Domitian "The ten last years", Chiron 13.
About Bassa. By auxiliary troops in special by alae, the troops were named after there first or a prefect or named after the legate of the province, for example ala Siliana torquata...... named after a Silius or ala gallorum picentiana named after a Picens, could be L. Rustius Picens possible was the first prefect of this ala. There are better examples, but I can´t find them in the moment :wink:
There is no Emperor with the name Titus Flavius Bassus hock:
The natives when they are entering the roman army will be given Roman names, the officials, in the past also natives, didn´t have much fantasy. So you can find standard names like Domitius, Antonius or for the cognomen Secundus, Longinus, Maximus. They use also parts of the imperial names like Flavius, Ulpius or Aelius. Or parts of the names of the legate of the province. Sometimes they integrated their old native name.
I really don´t think that all soldiers by a legion were roman citizen, they get roman names. Romans were flexible
In some studies about Romans names you can really find something about there status. If there are freeborn or libertine by birth. But you can´t find too much in it. In past there were no registry office to control the names