Editing Roman naming conventions (section)

=====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"/>