Spurius (), feminine Spuria, 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 used primarily during the period 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 ...
, and which fell into disuse in imperial times. It was used by both patrician and plebeian families, and gave rise to the patronymic ''
gens Spurilia''. The name was originally abbreviated S., as it was the most common praenomen beginning with that letter; but, as it grew less common, it was sometimes abbreviated Sp.
For most of the Roman Republic, Spurius was about the ninth most-common praenomen. Although used by a minority of families, it was favored by many, including the ''gentes
Carvilia,
Cassia,
Furia,
Nautia,
Papiria,
Postumia,
Servilia'', and ''
Veturia''. It was most common during the early centuries of the Republic, and gradually declined in popularity until it all but disappeared during the 1st century AD.
Origin and meaning of the name
The actual meaning of Spurius is unproven. The name was used by the Etruscans in the form ''Spurie'', and it was used by several Roman families that had Etruscan roots, so it has been postulated that it was either borrowed from the Etruscan language, or was a cognate of an Etruscan word meaning something akin to ''city dweller''.
Popular etymology, however, connected the name with the phrase, ''sine patre filius'', that is, ''son without a father'', and the explanation that it was given to children born out of wedlock. This was the opinion of
Sextus Pompeius Festus, which is accepted by Chase, perhaps surprisingly considering the unlikelihood of anyone deliberately choosing such a name, or passing it down within a family for many generations. This explanation is almost certainly wrong, and is an 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 ...
. However, it probably contributed to the decline in the use of the praenomen, and gave rise to the modern adjective ''spurious''.
While it cannot be proven that any Latin praenomina were borrowed from Etruscan, and Spurius was used by a number of ''gentes'' of indisputably Latin origin, the explanation that it was connected with a word meaning ''city'' or ''citizen'' appears reasonably likely.
[Wilhelm Deecke, ''Etruskische Forschungen und Studien'']
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spurius (Praenomen)
Ancient Roman praenomina