Marcus (), feminine Marca or Marcia, is a Latin ''
praenomen'', or
personal name
A personal name, full name or prosoponym (from Ancient Greek ''prósōpon'' – person, and ''onoma'' –name) is the set of names by which an individual person or animal is known. When taken together as a word-group, they all relate to that on ...
, which was one of the most common names throughout Roman history. The praenomen was used by both patrician and plebeian families, and gave rise to the patronymic ''
gens Marcia'', as well as the ''
cognomen
A ''cognomen'' (; : ''cognomina''; from ''co-'' "together with" and ''(g)nomen'' "name") was the third name of a citizen of ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. Initially, it was a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became hereditar ...
Marcellus''. It was regularly abbreviated M.
[''Dictionary of Greek & Roman Biography & Mythology''][''Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft''][Mika Kajava, ''Roman Female Praenomina: Studies in the Nomenclature of Roman Women'' (1994)]
At all periods of Roman history, Marcus was the third-most popular praenomen, trailing only ''
Lucius'' and ''
Gaius''. Although many prominent families did not use it, it was a favorite of countless others. The name survived the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...
and has continued to be used, in various forms, into modern times.
Origin and meaning of the name
The praenomen Marcus is generally thought to be derived from the name of the god
Mars. It has been proposed that it was originally given to children who were born in the month of ''Martius'' (March), which was itself named in honor of the god Mars.
The feminine form of Marcus should be ''Marca''. However, surviving examples indicate that ''Marcia'', with an "i", was more common. The same was true of the praenomen ''Tita'' or ''Titia''.
The
Etruscan form of this praenomen is ''Marce''.
[ Jacques Heurgon, ''Daily Life of the Etruscans'' (1964)]
See also
*
Roman naming conventions
Over the course of some fourteen centuries, the Ancient Rome, Romans and other peoples of Italy employed a system of nomenclature that differed from that used by other cultures of Europe and the Mediterranean Sea, consisting of a combination of g ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marcus (Praenomen)
Ancient Roman praenomina
Theophoric names