Quintus () is a Latin
praenomen, or
personal name, which was common throughout all periods of Roman history. It was used by both patrician and plebeian families, and gave rise to the patronymic gentes
Quinctia and
Quinctilia. The feminine form is ''Quinta''. The name was regularly abbreviated Q.
[''Dictionary of Greek & Roman Biography & Mythology'']
Throughout Roman history, Quintus was one of the most common praenomina, generally occupying fourth or fifth place, behind ''
Lucius
Lucius ( el, Λούκιος ''Loukios''; ett, Luvcie) is a male given name derived from '' Lucius'' (abbreviated ''L.''), one of the small group of common Latin forenames ('' praenomina'') found in the culture of ancient Rome. Lucius derives from ...
'', ''
Gaius'', and ''
Marcus'', and occurring about as frequently as ''
Publius''. Although many families did not use the name at all, it was particularly favored by others. The name continued to be used after the collapse of Roman civil institutions in the fifth and sixth centuries, and has survived to the present day.
[''Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft'']
Origin and meaning
Quintus is the Latin word for "fifth", and it falls into a class of similar praenomina including the masculine names ''
Sextus,
Septimus,
Octavius,
Nonus'', and ''
Decimus'', as well as the feminine names ''Prima, Secunda, Tertia, Quarta, Sexta, Septima, Octavia, Nona'', and ''Decima''. It is generally believed that the name was originally given to a fifth child, a fifth son, or a fifth daughter. However, it has also been argued that Quintus and the other praenomina of this type could refer to the month of the year in which a child was born. It may be that such names were given for both reasons.
[George Davis Chase, "The Origin of Roman Praenomina", in ''Harvard Studies in Classical Philology'', vol. VIII (1897)][''Oxford Classical Dictionary'', 3rd Ed. (1996)]
Whatever the original reason that the name was given, parents were free to use it for any reason of their choosing. The primary consideration seems to have been the desire to pass on family names. Thus, the first son in a family was almost as likely as the fifth to be named Quintus.
The
Oscan cognate of Quintus was ''Pompo'',
[ a name best known from the father of Numa Pompilius, the second king of Rome. The gentes Pompilia and ]Pomponia
Pomponia is the female name for the Pomponia gens of Ancient Rome. This family was one of the oldest families in Rome. Various women bearing this name lived during the Middle and Late Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. The oldest known Pompon ...
(both of which claimed descent from Numa Pompilius) were derived from this praenomen. The nomen Pompeius may also be a patronymic based on the name Pompo.
See also
* Roman naming conventions
Notes
References
{{Praenomina
Ancient Roman praenomina