Tullus ( or rarely ) 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 from the earliest times to the end 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 ...

. Although never particularly common, the name gave rise to the patronymic ''gens Tullia'', and it may have been used as a ''

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 ...

'' by families that had formerly used the name. The feminine form is ''Tulla''. The name is not usually abbreviated, but is sometimes found with the abbreviation Tul. The praenomen Tullus is best known from

Tullus Hostilius Tullus Hostilius (; r. 672–640 BC) was the legendary third king of Rome. He succeeded Numa Pompilius and was succeeded by Ancus Marcius. Unlike his predecessor, Tullus was known as a warlike king who, according to the Roman historian Livy, b ...

, the third king of Rome. Other examples include Attius Tullus, a

Volsci The Volsci (, , ) were an Italic tribe, well known in the history of the first century of the Roman Republic. At the time they inhabited the partly hilly, partly marshy district of the south of Latium, bounded by the Aurunci and Samnites on the ...

an leader, in which Tullus is either a cognomen or an inverted praenomen; Tullus Cloelius, a Roman envoy, Tullus Cluvius, mentioned by the orator

Marcus Tullius Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ...

in the 1st century BC, and a father and son from ''gens Tullia'' who lived at Tibur. Writing at the time of Cicero, the scholar

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 Tullus amongst several praenomina that he considered obsolete, although the foregoing examples show that it was still in limited use.

Origin and meaning

Tullus appears to be a Latin name, as most of the families in which it occurs are of Latin origin, but the name may also have been common to the Oscan and Umbrian languages, as evidenced by the Volscian leader, Attius Tullus. The name seems to have confused some Latin writers, including the historian

Titus Livius Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding i ...

, who wavered between regarding it as praenomen or cognomen. Livius gives the forms ''Attius Tullus'' and ''Cloelius Tullus'' (with no praenomen), while

Gaius Plinius Secundus Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...

gives ''Tullus Cloelius'', which is probably correct. The meaning of the praenomen is unclear. Chase hypothesizes that it could be derived from an archaic word meaning "people", in which case it might have a similar meaning to the praenomen '' Publius'', but ultimately he concludes that it is more likely a diminutive of a word meaning "one who supports". This would give it a similar meaning to the possible praenomen ''Fertor'', found in a single inscription of ''gens Resia'', although that may be a mistake for (or variation of) the praenomen Sertor.George Davis Chase, "The Origin of Roman Praenomina", in ''Harvard Studies in Classical Philology'', vol. VIII (1897)

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tullus (Praenomen) Ancient Roman praenomina