Gentilicium

The (or simply ) was a hereditary name borne by the peoples of Roman Italy and later by the citizens of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. It was originally the name of one's (family or clan) by patrilineal descent. However, as Rome expanded its frontiers and non-Roman peoples were progressively granted citizenship and concomitant , the latter lost its value in indicating patrilineal ancestry.

For men, the was the middle of the ("three names"), after the and before the . For women, the was often the only name used until the late Republic. For example, three members of gens ''Julia'' were Gaius ''Julius'' Caesar and his sisters ''Julia'' Major and ''Julia'' Minor ("Julia the elder" and "Julia the younger").

History

The ''nomen gentilicium'', or "gentile name" designated a Roman citizen as a member of a ''gens''. A ''gens'', which may be translated as "race", "family", or "clan", constituted an extended Roman family, all of whom shared the same ''nomen'', and claimed descent from a common ancestor. Particularly in the early Republic, the ''gens'' functioned as a state within the state, observing its own sacred rites, and establishing private laws, which were binding on its members, although not on the community as a whole.''Oxford Classical Dictionary'', 2nd Ed. (1970), "Gens."

Although the other peoples of Italy also possessed ''nomina'' (plural of ''nomen''), the distinction between Romans and the non-Roman peoples of Italy disappeared as various communities were granted the Roman franchise, and following the Social War (91–87 BC), when this was extended to most of Italy. Once this occurred, possession of the ''nomen gentilicium'' identified a man as a Roman citizen.

The ''nomen'' was an essential element of Roman nomenclature throughout Roman history, although its usefulness as a distinguishing element declined precipitously following the ''Constitutio Antoniniana'', which effectively granted the ''nomen'' "Aurelius" to vast numbers of newly enfranchised citizens. Countless other "new Romans" acquired the ''nomina'' of important families in this manner during imperial times; in the fourth century ''Aurelius'' was surpassed in number by ''Flavius'', and other names became quite common, including ''Valerius'', ''Claudius'', ''Fabius'', ''Julius'', and ''Junius''. These names no longer had any utility in indicating one's patrilineal ancestry, and became largely perfunctory. They could be changed to indicate rank or status, and even abbreviated, much as ''praenomina'' had been.''Oxford Classical Dictionary'', 2nd Ed. (1970), "Names, Personal."Benet Salway, "What's in a Name? A Survey of Roman Onomastic Practice from c. 700 B.C. to A.D. 700", in ''Journal of Roman Studies'', vol. 84, pp. 124–145 (1994).

Both in its original form, identifying an individual as a member of a Roman ''gens'', and in its later form, as an indicator of status, the ''nomen'' continued to be used for several decades after the collapse of Imperial authority in the west. The last datable example of a ''nomen gentilicium'' belongs to a Julia Rogatiana, who died at Volubilis in AD 655; in the east ''nomina'' such as ''Flavius'' continued until the beginning of the eighth century; Flavius Basilius was Pagarch of Aphrodito in Egypt in 710.

See also

* Roman naming conventions
* Agnomen
* List of Roman nomina

Notes

References

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Roman naming conventions