Agnomen

An ''agnomen'' (; : ''agnomina''), in the Roman naming convention, was a nickname, just as the ''cognomen'' had been initially. However, the ''cognomina'' eventually became family names, and so ''agnomina'' were needed to distinguish between similarly-named persons. However, as the ''agnomen'' was an additional and optional component in a Roman name, not all Romans had an ''agnomen''.

Pseudo-Probus uses the hero of the Punic Wars, Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus, as an example:

Marius Victorinus further elucidates:

Africanus, Creticus and the likes are also known as victory titles. For example, Gaius Marcius Coriolanus earned his from the capture of Corioli.

Etymology

Latin ''agnōmen'' (also spelled ) comes from ''ad'' "to" and ''nōmen'' "name".

Caligula

As a minimum, a Roman ''agnomen'' is a name attached to an individual's full titulature after birth and formal naming by the family. True Roman nicknames, fully replacing the individual's name in usage, are rare. One such example in which the nickname fully replaced the individual's name in usage was the Emperor Caligula; that name was used in place of and not along with his full name, which was Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus. Caligula's ''praenomen'' was Gaius, his ''nomen'' Julius, his ''cognomen'' Caesar. Some ''agnomina'' were inherited like ''cognomina'' and thus established a sub-family. Caligula's ''agnomen'' came from the little boots that he wore as part of his miniature soldier's uniform while accompanying his father, Germanicus, on campaigns in northern Germania. In turn, Germanicus received his agnomen in 9 BC, when it was posthumously awarded to his father Nero Claudius Drusus in honour of his Germanic victories. At birth, Germanicus had been known as either Nero Claudius Drusus, after his father, or Tiberius Claudius Nero, after his uncle. As with Caligula, Germanicus is mostly referred to by his agnomen.

Comparison with pseudonyms

An ''agnomen'' is not a pseudonym but a real name and is an addition to, not a substitution for, an individual's full name. Parallel examples of ''agnomina'' from later times are epithets like Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson, who is, however, known more often by his agnomen than by his first name, or popular nicknames like "Iron" Mike Tyson or Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

See also

* List of Roman imperial victory titles
*Nomen gentilicium
*Praenomen
*Nomen nescio
*Courtesy name

References

{{Personal names

Roman naming conventions