Editing Cognomen (section)

==Roman names==
{{see|Roman naming conventions}}
Because of the limited nature of the Latin ''[[praenomen]]'', the ''cognomen'' developed to distinguish branches of the family from one another, and occasionally, to highlight an individual's achievement, typically in warfare. One example of this is [[Pompey|Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus]], whose cognomen ''Magnus'' was earned after his military victories under [[Sulla]]'s dictatorship. The ''cognomen'' was a form of distinguishing people who accomplished important feats, and those who already bore a ''cognomen'' were awarded another exclusive name, the [[agnomen]]. For example, [[Scipio Africanus|Publius Cornelius Scipio]] received the agnomen ''Africanus'' after his victory over the Carthaginian general [[Hannibal]] at Zama, Africa (''Africanus'' here means "of Africa" in the sense that his fame derives from Africa, rather than being born in Africa, which would have been ''Afer''); and the same procedure occurred in the names of [[Quintus Caecilius Metellus Numidicus|Quintus Caecilius Metellus ''Numidicus'']] (conqueror of Numidia) and [[Quintus Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus|Quintus Caecilius Metellus ''Macedonicus'']].

In contrast to the honorary ''cognomina'' adopted by successful generals, most ''cognomina'' were based on a physical or personality quirk; for example, ''Rufus'' meaning "[[red hair|red-haired]]" or ''[[Mucia gens|Scaevola]]'' meaning "[[Left-handedness|left-handed]]". Some cognomina were hereditary (such as [[Caesar (title)|Caesar]] among a branch of the [[Julia gens|Julii]], Brutus and Silanus among the [[Junia gens|Junii]], or Pilius and [[Caecilii Metelli family tree|Metellus]] among the [[Caecilia gens|Caecilii]]): others tended to be individual. And some names appear to have been used both as ''praenomen'', ''[[agnomen]]'', or non-hereditary ''cognomen''. For instance, ''Vopiscus'' was used as both ''praenomen'' and ''cognomen'' in the Julii Caesares; likewise ''Nero'' among the early imperial [[Claudia gens|Claudii]], several of whom used the traditional hereditary Claudian cognomen as a praenomen.

The upper-class usually used the ''cognomen'' to refer to one another.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Powell|first1=J. G. F.|title=A Note on the use of the ''Praenomen''|journal=The Classical Quarterly|date=1984|volume=34|issue=1|pages=238–239|doi=10.1017/S0009838800029529|s2cid=170613918 }}</ref>

In present academic context, many prominent ancient Romans are referred to by only their ''cognomen''; for example, [[Cicero]] (from ''cicer'' "[[chickpea]]") serves as a shorthand for Marcus Tullius Cicero, and [[Etymology of the name of Julius Caesar|Caesar]] for [[Julius Caesar|Gaius Julius Caesar]].