Postumus is a Latin
praenomen
The praenomen (; plural: praenomina) was a first name chosen by the parents of a Ancient Rome, 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 ...
, 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 most common during the early centuries of the
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic ( ) was the era of Ancient Rome, classical Roman civilisation beginning with Overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establis ...
. It gave rise to the patronymic ''
gens Postumia'', and later became a common
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 ...
, or
surname
In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...
. The feminine form is ''Postuma''. The name was not regularly abbreviated, but is sometimes found as Pos. or Post.
[''Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft''][''Liber De Praenominibus'']
Postumus was used by both patrician and plebeian gentes, including the
Aebutii,
Antistii,
Cominii,
Livii,
Mimesii,
Plautii,
Sempronii,
Sulpicii, and
Veturii; and naturally it must once have been used by the ancestors of gens Postumia. Other ''gentes'' which later used it as a cognomen may originally have used it as a praenomen. Because it was not a common name, there are few examples of the feminine form, but
Marcus Terentius Varro
Marcus Terentius Varro (116–27 BCE) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome" (after Virgil and Cicero). He is sometimes call ...
listed it together with other archaic praenomina that were no longer in general use by the 1st century BC, and
Plutarch
Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...
us mentions that it was given to the youngest daughter of the dictator
Lucius Cornelius Sulla
Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (, ; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman people, Roman general and statesman of the late Roman Republic. A great commander and ruthless politician, Sulla used violence to advance his career and his co ...
, who lived during Varro's time.
Origin and meaning
Popular etymology connects this praenomen with the modern adjective ''
posthumous
Posthumous may refer to:
* Posthumous award, an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death
* Posthumous publication, publishing of creative work after the author's death
* Posthumous (album), ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1 ...
'', meaning "after death", from the Latin roots for "after" and "earth" (as a metaphor for burial), and assume that it was given to children born after the death of their fathers. Such associations date from at least the time of Varro, and probably contributed to the scarcity of the name. A similar example of
false etymology
A false etymology (fake etymology or pseudo-etymology) is a false theory about the origin or derivation of a specific word or phrase. When a false etymology becomes a popular belief in a cultural/linguistic community, it is a folk etymology (or po ...
probably limited the use of the praenomen ''
Opiter''.
In fact, the name is derived from the adjective ''
postumus
Marcus Cassianius Latinius Postumus ( 259–269) was a Roman commander of Batavian origin, who ruled as emperor of the splinter state of the Roman Empire known to modern historians as the Gallic Empire. The Roman army in Gaul threw off its al ...
'', meaning "last" (the superlative of ''posterus'', "next"). The name was thus given to a youngest child, son, or daughter. Naturally, this also applied to children born after the death of their father, and this coincidence is no doubt responsible for much of the confusion about the meaning of the praenomen.
[Kajava.]
References
Bibliography
*
Plutarch
Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...
us, ''
Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans''.
* ''Liber de Praenominibus'', a short treatise of uncertain authorship, traditionally appended to
Valerius Maximus
Valerius Maximus () was a 1st-century Latin writer and author of a collection of historical anecdotes: ' ("Nine books of memorable deeds and sayings", also known as ''De factis dictisque memorabilibus'' or ''Facta et dicta memorabilia''). He worke ...
' ''Factorum ac Dictorum Memorabilium'' (Memorable Facts and Sayings).
*
August Pauly
August Friedrich von Pauly (; ; 9 May 1796, in Benningen am Neckar – 2 May 1845, in Stuttgart) was a German educator and classical philologist.
From 1813 to 1818 he studied at the University of Tübingen, then furthered his education at Heide ...
,
Georg Wissowa
Georg Otto August Wissowa (17 June 1859 – 11 May 1931) was a German classical philologist born in Neudorf, near Breslau.
Education and career
Wissowa studied classical philology under August Reifferscheid at the University of Bresl ...
, ''et alii'', ''
Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft
The Pauly encyclopedias or the Pauly-Wissowa family of encyclopedias, are a set of related encyclopedias on Greco-Roman world, Greco-Roman classical studies, topics and scholarship. The first of these, or (1839–1852), was begun by compiler A ...
'', J. B. Metzler, Stuttgart (1894–1980).
* George Davis Chase, "The Origin of Roman Praenomina", in ''Harvard Studies in Classical Philology'', vol. VIII (1897).
* Mika Kajava, ''Roman Female Praenomina: Studies in the Nomenclature of Roman Women'', Acta Instituti Romani Finlandiae (1994).
{{Praenomina
Ancient Roman praenomina