Editing Cognomen

{{Short description|Third name of a citizen of Ancient Rome}}
{{More citations needed|date=December 2018}}
{{Italics title}}
A '''''cognomen''''' ({{IPA|la|kɔŋˈnoːmɛn|lang}};{{r|Pinkster2018}}<!--source for the vowel length, as there is some uncertainty over the first "o"--> {{plural form}}: '''''cognomina'''''; from ''co-'' "together with" and ''(g)nomen'' "name") was the third name of a citizen of [[ancient Rome]], under [[Roman naming conventions]]. Initially, it was a [[nickname]], but lost that purpose when it became hereditary. Hereditary ''cognomina'' were used to augment the second name, the ''[[nomen gentilicium]]'' (the [[Surname|family name]], or clan name), in order to identify a particular branch within a family or family within a clan. The term has also taken on other contemporary meanings.

==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]].

==Contemporary term==
{{see|nickname|surname|epithet|clan name (disambiguation){{!}}clan name}}
The term "cognomen" (sometimes pluralized "cognomens") has come into use as an English noun used outside the context of Ancient Rome. According to the 2012 edition of the ''[[Random House Dictionary]]'', cognomen can mean a "surname" or "any name, especially a nickname".<ref>[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Cognomen?s=t Cognomen] dictionary.com</ref> The basic sense in English is "how one is well known". For example [[Alfred the Great]]. (This is more similar to the Roman use of [[agnomen]] than their use of cognomen.)

[[Catalan language|Catalan]] ''cognom'' and [[Italian language|Italian]] ''cognome'', derived from the Latin ''cognomen'', mean "family name". [[Maltese language|Maltese]] ''kunjom'' is derived from the Italian version and retains the same meaning.

The term "cognomen" can also be applied to cultures with a clan structure and naming conventions comparable to those of Ancient Rome; thus, hereditary "cognomina" have been described as in use among the [[Xhosa people|Xhosa]] ([[Iziduko]]), the [[Yoruba people|Yoruba]] ([[Oriki]]), and the [[Zulu people|Zulu]] ([[Izibongo]]).

==See also==
*[[List of Roman cognomina]]
*[[Agnomen]]
* [[Courtesy name]]
*[[Namesake]]

==References==
{{reflist|refs=
<ref name=Pinkster2018>{{cite book |editor-last=Pinkster |editor-first=Harm |date=2018 |title=Woordenboek Latijn/Nederlands. |edition=7th revised |publisher=Amsterdam University Press |isbn=9789463720519}}</ref>}}

==External links==
{{Wiktionary|cognomen}}
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20030714161452/http://www.forumromanum.org/life/johnston_2.html Harold Whetstone Johnston (revised Mary Johnston), The Private Life of the Romans, 1932, Chapter 2: Roman Names]}}

{{Personal names}}

[[Category:Ancient Roman cognomina| ]]
[[Category:Roman naming conventions]]