Editing Roman naming conventions (section)

==Women's names==
{{main|Naming conventions for women in ancient Rome}}
In the earliest period, the binomial nomenclature of praenomen and nomen that developed throughout Italy was shared by both men and women.<ref name="OCD:Names"/> Most praenomina had both masculine and feminine forms, although a number of praenomina common to women were seldom or never used by men. Just as men's praenomina, women's names were regularly abbreviated instead of being written in full.<ref name="Harper's:Nomen"/><ref name="Kajava">{{Interlanguage link multi|Mika Kajava|fi|3=Mika Kajava}}, ''[{{googlebooks|G4QXAQAAIAAJ|plainurl=y}} Roman Female Praenomina: Studies in the Nomenclature of Roman Women]'' (1994), {{isbn|951-96902-1-2}}</ref> (A list of women's praenomina can be found at [[Praenomen#Feminine names|praenomen]].)

For a variety of reasons, women's praenomina became neglected over the course of Roman history, and by the end of the Republic, most women did not have or did not use praenomina. They did not disappear entirely, nor were Roman women bereft of personal names; but for most of Roman history women were known chiefly by their nomina or cognomina.<ref name="OCD:Names"/> The first of these reasons is probably{{weasel inline|date = March 2023}} that the praenomen itself lost much of its original utility following the adoption of hereditary surnames; the number of praenomina commonly used by both men and women declined throughout Roman history.{{fact|date = March 2023}} For men, who might hold public office or serve in the military, the praenomen remained an important part of the legal name.{{fact|date = March 2023}} As Roman women played little role in public life, the factors that resulted in the continuation of men's praenomina did not exist for women.{{fact|date = March 2023}}

Another factor was probably that the praenomen was not usually necessary to distinguish between women within the family. Because a Roman woman did not change her nomen when she married, her nomen alone was usually sufficient to distinguish her from every other member of the family. As Latin names had distinctive masculine and feminine forms, the nomen was sufficient to distinguish a daughter from both of her parents and all of her brothers. Thus, there was no need for a personal name unless there were multiple sisters in the same household.<ref name="Salway"/>

When this occurred, praenomina could be and frequently were used to distinguish between sisters. However, it was also common to identify sisters using a variety of names, some of which could be used as either praenomina or cognomina. For example, if Publius Servilius had two daughters, they would typically be referred to as ''Servilia Major'' and ''Servilia Minor''. If there were more daughters, the eldest might be called ''Servilia Prima'' or ''Servilia Maxima'';{{efn-lr|However, the eldest daughter, who might have been called by her nomen alone for several years, might continue to be so called even after the birth of younger sisters; in this case only the younger sisters might receive distinctive personal names.}} younger daughters as ''Servilia Secunda, Tertia, Quarta'', etc. All of these names could be used as praenomina, preceding the nomen, but common usage from the later Republic onward was to treat them as personal cognomina; when these names appear in either position, it is frequently impossible to determine whether they were intended as praenomina or cognomina.<ref name="Chase"/><ref name="Kajava"/>

Although women's praenomina were infrequently used in the later Republic, they continued to be used, when needed, into [[Roman Empire|imperial times]]. Among the other peoples of Italy, women's praenomina continued to be used regularly until the populace was thoroughly Romanized. In the [[Etruscan civilization|Etruscan]] culture, where women held a markedly higher social status than at Rome or in other ancient societies, inscriptions referring to women nearly always include praenomina.<ref name="Kajava"/>

[[File:0293 - Roma - S. Silvestro in Capite - Lapide romana - Foto Giovanni Dall'Orto, 11-Apr-2008.jpg|thumb|{{Smallcaps|Avlia L.F. Secunda}}<br/>Aulia Secunda, daughter of Lucius]]
Most Roman women were known by their nomina, with such distinction as described above for older and younger siblings. If further distinction were needed, she could be identified as a particular citizen's daughter or wife. For instance, [[Cicero]] refers to a woman as ''Annia P. Anni senatoris filia'', which means "Annia, daughter of Publius Annius, the senator".<ref name="Salway"/> However, toward the end of the Republic, as hereditary cognomina came to be regarded as proper names, a woman might be referred to by her cognomen instead, or by a combination of nomen and cognomen; the daughter of [[Lucius Caecilius Metellus Dalmaticus|Lucius Caecilius Metellus]] was usually referred to as ''[[Caecilia Metella Dalmatica|Caecilia Metella]]''. Sometimes these cognomina were given diminutive forms, such as ''Agrippina'' from the masculine ''Agrippa'', or ''Drusilla'' from ''Drusus''.<ref name="OCD:Names"/>

In imperial times, other, less formal names were sometimes used to distinguish between women with similar names.{{what|date = March 2023}}{{fact|date = March 2023}} Still later, Roman women, like men, adopted ''signa'', or alternative names, in place of their Roman names.{{fact|date = March 2023}} Finally, with the fall of the western empire in the fifth century, the last traces of the distinctive Italic nomenclature system began to disappear, and women too reverted to single names.{{fact|date = March 2023}}