Agnomen

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

An agnomen (plural: agnomina), in the Roman naming convention, is a nickname, much like how cognomen was initially. However, the cognomina eventually became family names, so agnomina was 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 agonomen (at least not recorded).

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

“

propria hominum nomina in quattuor species dividuntur, praenomen nomen cognomen agnomen: praenomen, ut puta Publius, nomen Cornelius, cognomen Scipio, agnomen Africanus.

(Men's personal names are of four types, praenomen, nomen, cognomen and agnomen: For praenomen think of Publius, for nomen Cornelius, for cognomen Scipio and for agnomen Africanus.)

”

Marius Victorinus further elucidates:

“

Iam agnomen extrinsecus venit, et venit tribus modis, aut ex animo aut ex corpore aut ex fortuna: ex animo, sicut Superbus et Pius, ex corpore, sicut Crassus et Pulcher, ex fortuna, sicut Africanus et Creticus.

(Now the agnomen comes from outside, and in three styles, from personality or physique or achievements: From personality, such as Superbus ["Haughty"] and Pius [displaying the Roman syndrome of virtues including honesty, reverence to the gods, devotion to family and state, etc.], from physique, such as Crassus ["Fatty"] and Pulcher ["Handsome"], or from achievements, such as Africanus and Creticus [from their victories in Africa and on Crete].

”

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

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. An example is Caligula, which was used in place of, and not along with, his full name, which was Gaius Iulius Caesar Augustus Germanicus. Caligula's praenomen was Gaius, his nomen Iulius, his cognomen Caesar. Some agnomina were inherited like the cognomen, thus establishing a sub-family.

An agnomen is not a pseudonym, but a real name; agnomina are additions to, not substitutions for, an individual's full name. Parallel examples of agnomina from later times are epithets like Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson (though he is known more often by his agnomen than his Christian name) or popular nicknames like "Iron" Mike Tyson.