Gnaeus ( , ) is a Latin ''
praenomen
The ''praenomen'' (; plural: ''praenomina'') was a personal name chosen by the parents of a Roman child. It was first bestowed on the ''dies lustricus'' (day of lustration), the eighth day after the birth of a girl, or the ninth day after the bir ...
'', or
personal name
A personal name, or full name, in onomastic terminology also known as prosoponym (from Ancient Greek πρόσωπον / ''prósōpon'' - person, and ὄνομα / ''onoma'' - name), is the set of names by which an individual person is kno ...
, which was common throughout the period of the
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Ki ...
, and well into imperial times. The feminine form is ''Gnaea''. The praenomen was used by both patrician and plebeian families, and gave rise to the patronymic ''
gens Naevia''. The name was regularly abbreviated Cn., based on the archaic spelling, ''Cnaeus'', dating from the period before the letters "C" and "G" were differentiated.
For most of Roman history, Gnaeus was one of the ten most common praenomina, being less common than ''
Titus
Titus Caesar Vespasianus ( ; 30 December 39 – 13 September 81 AD) was Roman emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death.
Before becoming emperor, Titus gained renown as a mili ...
'', the sixth most common praenomen, and comparable in frequency to ''
Aulus
Aulus (abbreviated A.) is one of the small group of common forenames found in the culture of ancient Rome.
The name was traditionally connected with Latin ''aula'', ''olla'', "palace", but this is most likely a false etymology. ''Aulus'' in fact ...
'', ''
Spurius'', and ''
Sextus
Sextus is an ancient Roman ''praenomen'' or "first name". Its standard abbreviation is Sex., and the feminine form would be Sexta. It is one of the numeral ''praenomina'', like Quintus ("fifth") and Decimus ("tenth"), and means "sixth". Although i ...
''. Although the name was used by a minority of families at Rome, it was favored by a number of prominent ''gentes'', including the
Cornelii,
Domitii
The gens Domitia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. The first of the gens to achieve prominence was Gnaeus Domitius Calvinus, consul in 332 BC. His son, Gnaeus Domitius Calvinus Maximus, was consul in 283, and the first plebeian censor. T ...
,
Manlii, and
Servilii. The name gradually became less common in imperial times.
Origin and meaning
According to Festus, the praenomen Gnaeus originally referred to a birthmark, which was ''naevus'' in
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
. This etymology is generally accepted by modern scholars. In his treatise on the origin of Roman praenomina, Chase cites the archaic spelling ''Gnaivos'' in support of this explanation. However, as with other praenomina, Gnaeus was generally chosen because it was a family name, not necessarily because the children who received it had a noteworthy birthmark.
Gnaeus was one of a number of Latin praenomina borrowed by the
Etruscans
The Etruscan civilization () was developed by a people of Etruria in ancient Italy with a common language and culture who formed a federation of city-states. After conquering adjacent lands, its territory covered, at its greatest extent, roug ...
, in
whose language it became ''Cneve'' or ''Cneies''.
[''Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft'']
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gnaeus (Praenomen)
Ancient Roman praenomina