Editing Roman naming conventions (section)

===Cognomen===
{{main|Cognomen}}
[[File:N26FabiusCunctator.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus]], surnamed "Cunctator".<br>''Maximus'' was the branch of the [[Fabia gens]] to which he belonged; ''Verrucosus'' was a personal cognomen referring to a wart above his upper lip; ''Cunctator'' a ''cognomen ex virtute'' referring to his delaying strategy against [[Hannibal]].<br>Statue at [[Schönbrunn Palace]], [[Vienna]]]]
The cognomen, the third element of the ''tria nomina'', began as an additional personal name. It was not unique to Rome, but Rome was where the cognomen flourished, as the development of the gens and the gradual decline of the praenomen as a useful means of distinguishing between individuals made the cognomen a useful means of identifying both individuals and whole branches of Rome's leading families. In the early years of the Republic, some aristocratic Romans had as many as three cognomina, some of which were hereditary, while others were personal.<ref name="OCD:Names"/>

Like the nomen, cognomina could arise from any number of factors: personal characteristics, habits, occupations, places of origin, heroic exploits, and so forth. One class of cognomina consisted largely of archaic praenomina that were seldom used by the later Republic, although as cognomina these names persisted throughout Imperial times.<ref name="Chase">George Davis Chase, "The Origin of Roman Praenomina", in ''Harvard Studies in Classical Philology'', vol. VIII (1897).</ref> Many cognomina had unusual terminations for Latin names, ending in ''-a, -o'', or ''-io'', and their meanings were frequently obscure, even in antiquity; this seems to emphasize the manner in which many cognomina originally arose from nicknames. The ''-ius'' termination typical of Latin nomina was generally not used for cognomina until the fourth century AD, making it easier to distinguish between nomina and cognomina until the final centuries of the western empire.<ref name="Salway"/>

Unlike the nomen, which was passed down unchanged from father to son, cognomina could appear and disappear almost at will. They were not normally chosen by the persons who bore them, but were earned or bestowed by others, which may account for the wide variety of unflattering names that were used as cognomina. Doubtless some cognomina were used ironically, while others continued in use largely because, whatever their origin, they were useful for distinguishing among individuals and between branches of large families. New cognomina were coined and came into fashion throughout Roman history.<ref name="OCD:Names"/>

Under the Empire, the number of cognomina increased dramatically. Where once only the most noble patrician houses used multiple surnames, Romans of all backgrounds and social standing might bear several cognomina. By the third century, this had become the norm amongst freeborn Roman citizens. The question of how to classify different cognomina led the grammarians of the fourth and fifth centuries to designate some of them as ''agnomina''.<ref name="Harper's:Nomen"/>

For most of the Republic, the usual manner of distinguishing individuals was through the binomial form of praenomen and nomen. But as the praenomen lost its value as a distinguishing name, and gradually faded into obscurity, its former role was assumed by the versatile cognomen, and the typical manner of identifying individuals came to be by nomen and cognomen; essentially one form of binomial nomenclature was replaced by another, over the course of several centuries. The very lack of regularity that allowed the cognomen to be used as either a personal or a hereditary surname became its strength in imperial times; as a hereditary surname, a cognomen could be used to identify an individual's connection with other noble families, either by descent, or later by association. Individual cognomina could also be used to distinguish between members of the same family; even as siblings came to share the same praenomen, they bore different cognomina, some from the paternal line, and others from their maternal ancestors.<ref name="Salway"/>

Although the nomen was a required element of Roman nomenclature down to the end of the western empire, its usefulness as a distinguishing name declined throughout imperial times, as an increasingly large portion of the population bore nomina such as ''Flavius'' or ''Aurelius'', which had been granted ''en masse'' to newly enfranchised citizens. As a result, by the third century the cognomen became the most important element of the Roman name, and frequently the only one that was useful for distinguishing between individuals. In the later empire, the proliferation of cognomina was such that the full nomenclature of most individuals was not recorded, and in many cases the only names surviving in extant records are cognomina.<ref name="Salway"/>

By the sixth century, traditional Roman cognomina were frequently prefixed by a series of names with Christian religious significance. As Roman institutions vanished, and the distinction between nomen and cognomen ceased to have any practical importance, the complex system of cognomina that developed under the later empire faded away. The people of the western empire reverted to single names, which were indistinguishable from the cognomina that they replaced; many former praenomina and nomina also survived in this way.<ref name="Salway"/>

====Agnomen====
{{main|Agnomen}}
The proliferation of cognomina in the later centuries of the Empire led some grammarians to classify certain types as ''agnomina''. This class included two main types of cognomen: the ''cognomen ex virtute'', and cognomina that were derived from nomina, to indicate the parentage of Romans who had been adopted from one gens into another. Although these names had existed throughout Roman history, it was only in this late period that they were distinguished from other cognomina.<ref name="Harper's:Nomen"/>

=====''Cognomina ex virtute''=====
The ''cognomen ex virtute'' was a surname derived from some virtuous or heroic episode attributed to the bearer. Roman history is filled with individuals who obtained cognomina as a result of their exploits: [[Aulus Postumius Albus Regillensis]], who commanded the Roman army at the [[Battle of Lake Regillus]]; [[Gaius Marcius Coriolanus]], who captured the city of [[Corioli]]; [[Marcus Valerius Corvus]], who defeated a giant [[Gauls|Gaul]] in single combat, aided by a raven; [[Titus Manlius Torquatus (consul 347 BC)|Titus Manlius Torquatus]], who likewise defeated a Gaulish giant, and took his name from the [[torc|torque]] that he claimed as a prize; [[Scipio Africanus|Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus]], who carried the [[Second Punic War]] to Africa, and defeated [[Hannibal]].{{fact|date = March 2023}} The examples most often described in scholarship on the subject{{what|date = March 2023}} regarding this class of cognomen come from the period of the Republic, centuries before the concept of the ''agnomen'' was formulated.{{fact|date = March 2023}}

=====Adoptive cognomina=====
{{main|Adoption in ancient Rome}}
Adoption was a common and formal process in Roman culture. Its chief purpose had nothing to do with providing homes for children; it was about ensuring the continuity of family lines that might otherwise become extinct. In early Rome, this was especially important for the patricians, who enjoyed tremendous status and privilege compared with the plebeians. Because few families were admitted to the patriciate after the [[Overthrow of the Roman monarchy|expulsion of the kings]], while the number of plebeians continually grew, the patricians continually struggled to preserve their wealth and influence. A man who had no sons to inherit his property and preserve his family name would adopt one of the younger sons from another family. In time, as the plebeians also acquired wealth and gained access to the offices of the Roman state, they too came to participate in the Roman system of adoption.<ref name="Harper's:Adoption">''[[Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities|Harper's Dictionary of Classical Literature and Antiquities]]'', Second Edition, [[Harry Thurston Peck]], Editor (1897), "Adoption."</ref><ref>''[[Oxford Classical Dictionary]]'', 2nd Ed. (1970), "Adoption."</ref>

Since the primary purpose of adoption was to preserve the name and status of the adopter, an adopted son would usually assume both the praenomen and nomen of his adoptive father, together with any hereditary cognomina, just as an eldest son would have done. However, adoption did not result in the complete abandonment of the adopted son's birth name. The son's original nomen (or occasionally cognomen) would become the basis of a new surname, formed by adding the derivative suffix ''-anus'' or ''-inus'' to the stem. Thus, when a son of [[Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus|Lucius Aemilius Paullus]] was adopted by [[Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus (priest)|Publius Cornelius Scipio]], he became [[Scipio Aemilianus|Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus]]; in his will, the [[Roman dictator|dictator]] [[Julius Caesar|Gaius Julius Caesar]] adopted his grandnephew, Gaius Octavius, who became known as [[Augustus|Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus]].<ref name="OCD:Names"/><ref name="Harper's:Nomen"/><ref name="Harper's:Adoption"/>