first given is ordinarily changed (at the ceremony answering to confirmation in the church) for some more appropriate and descriptive nickname, and that, again, is apt to be superseded by various “honour-giving names” derived from various exploits. The common superstition against being “named” has probably produced the custom by which each individual has a secret name and is addressed, when possible, by some wide term of kinship—“brother,” “father” and the like. The bad luck which in Zulu customs as in Vedic myths attends the utterance of the real name is evaded by this system of addresses. Could we get a savage—an Iroquois, for example—to explain his titles, we would find that he is, say, “Morning Cloud” (by birth-name), “Hungry Wolf” (by confirmation name), “He that raises the white fellow’s scalp” (by honour-giving name), of the Crane totem (by kinship and hereditary name, as understood by ourselves). When society grows so permanent that male kinship and paternity are recognized, the custom of patronymics is introduced. The totem name gives place to a gentile name, itself probably a patronymic in form; or, as in Greece, the gentile name gives place to a local name, derived from the deme. Thus a Roman is called Caius; Julius is his gentile name (of the Julian clan); Caesar is a kind of hereditary nickname. A Greek is Thucydides (the name usually derived from the grandfather), the son of Olorus, of the deme of Halimusia.
This system of names answered the purposes of Greek and Roman civilization. In Europe, among the Teutonic races, the stock-names (conceivably totemistic in origin) survive in English local names, which speak of the “ton” or “ham” of the Billings or Tootings. An examination of these names, as collected in Kemble’s Anglo-Saxons, proves that they were frequently derived from animals and plants. Such English names as “Noble Wolf” (Ethelwulf), “Wolf of War” and so forth, certainly testify to a somewhat primitive and fierce stage of society. Then came more vulgar nicknames and personal descriptions, as “Long,” “Brown,” “White” and so forth. Other names are directly derived from the occupation or craft (Smith, Fowler, Sadler) of the man to whom they were given, and yet other names were derived from places. The noble and landowner was called “of” such and such a place (the German von and French de), while the humbler man was called not “of” but “at” such a place, as in the name “Attewell,” or merely by the local name without the particle. The “de” might also indicate merely the place of a person’s birth or residence; it was not a proof of noblesse. If we add to these names patronymics formed by the addition of “son,” and terms derived from Biblical characters (the latter adopted after the Reformation as a reaction against the names of saints in the calendar), we have almost exhausted the sources of modern English and European names. A continual development of custom can be traced, and the analysis of any man’s family and Christian names will lead us beyond history into the manners of races devoid of literary records. (A. L.)
Greek Names.—The Greeks had only one, and no family, name; hence the name of a child was left to the discretion of the parents. The eldest son generally took the name of his paternal grandfather, girls that of their grandmother. Genuine patronymics (Phocion, son of Phocus), analogous compounds (Theophrastus, son of Theodorus), or names of similar meaning (Philumenus, son of Eros) also occur. Athenaeus divides names generally into (1) θεοφόρα, chiefly derivatives or compounds of the names of gods (Demetrius, Apollonius, Theodorus, Diodotus, Heraclitus, Diogenes); (2) ἄθεα, simple or variously compounded names, especially such as were of good omen for a son’s future career (Aristides, Pericles, Sophocles, Alexander), although such hopes were frequently belied by the results. Instances of a subsequent change of name are not uncommon; thus, Plato and Theophrastus were originally Aristocles and Tyrtamus.
To obviate the ambiguity and confusion arising from the use of a single name, various expedients were adopted, the commonest being to add the father’s name—Δημοσθένης Δημοσθένους, Ἀλκιβιάδης ὁ Κλεινίου. Sometimes the birthplace was added—Ἡρόδοτος Ἀλικαρνασσεύς, Θουκυδίδης ὁ Ἀθηναῖος, and sometimes the name of the deme (see Cleisthenes), e.g. Δημοσθένης Παιανεύς. Nicknames denoting mental or bodily defects or striking peculiarities (e.g. colour of hair) were also favourite methods of discrimination (e.g. Ξανθός, yellow).
Roman Names.—Towards the end of the republic free-born Romans were distinguished by three names and two (or even four) secondary indications. In an inscription the name of Cicero is given in the following form: M. Tullius M.f. M.n. M.pr. Cor(nelia tribu) Cicero. M (＝Marcus) is the praenomen; Tullius, the nomen, the gentile or family name; Cicero, the cognomen. This order, always preserved, is the correct one. M.f. (＝Marci filius), M.n. (＝Marci nepos), M.pr. (＝Marci pronepos), Cor(nelia tribu) are only used in formal description.
Praenomen (corresponding to the modern Christian name).—Varro gives a list of 32 praenomina, of which 14 had fallen out of use in Sulla’s time, the remaining 18 being confined to patrician families. Some of these appear to have been appropriated by particular families, e.g. Appius by the Claudii, Mamercus by the Aemilii. In the case of plebeian families there was greater latitude and a larger variety of names, but those which became ennobled followed the patrician usage. After the time of Sulla some of the old praenomina were revived, unless they are rather to be regarded as cognomina, which in some families displaced the praenomen proper, as in the case of a certain Africanus Aemilius Regulus.
The nomen (gentile, gentilicium) belonged to all the individual members of the gens and those in any way connected with it (wives, clients, freedmen). In patrician gentes the nomina nearly all ended in -ius (-aeus, -eius, -eus), and are perhaps a sort of patronymic (Iulius from Iulus). In some cases the name indicates the place of origin (Norbanus, Acerranus); -acus (Divitiacus) is peculiar to Gallic, -na (Caecina, Perperna) to Etruscan, -enus (Arulenus) to Umbrian names. Verres as a gentile name stands by itself; perhaps it was originally a cognomen.
The cognomen (“surname”) was the name given to a Roman citizen as a member of a familia or branch of the gens, whereby the family was distinguished from other families belonging to the same gens. Cognomina were either of local origin (Calatinus, Sabinus); or denoted physical peculiarities or moral characteristics (Crassus, Longus, Lentulus, Lepidus, Calvus, Naso); or they were really praenomina (Cossus, Agrippa) or derivatives from praenomina or cognomina (Sextinus, Corvinus, Laevinus). The tria nomina (“three names”) in the well-known passage of Juvenal (v. 127) was probably at that time a mark of ingenuitas rather than of nobilitas.
In addition to these three regular names, many Romans had a fourth, cognomen secundum (agnomen was an introduction of the grammarians of the 4th century). These “second surnames” were chiefly bestowed in recognition of great achievements—Asiaticus, Africanus, Creticus, or were part of the terminology in cases of adoption.
Persons adopted took all the three names of their adoptive father, but at the same time, to keep his origin in mind, they added a second cognomen, a derivative in -anus or -inus from his old gentile name; thus, Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus, son of Lucius Aemilius Paullus, adopted by Publius Cornelius Scipio. After the time of Sulla, the derivative was no longer used, one of the old names being substituted without change—Marcus Terentius Varro Lucullus. Under the empire no fixed rule was observed, the most remarkable thing being the very large number of names borne by one person (as many as 36 occur on an inscription). Especially in the army and amongst the lower orders, nicknames (signa, vocabula) are of frequent occurrence. Well-known examples are: Caligula; cedo alteram (“another stick, please!”), given to a centurion of flogging propensities; manus ad ferrum (“hand on sword,”) of Aurelian when tribune.
Women originally took the name of the head of the family—Caecilia (filia) Metelli, Metella Crassi (uxor). Later, f. (＝filia) was added after the name of a daughter. Towards the end of the republic women are denoted by their gentile name alone, while under the empire they always have two—the nomen and cognomen of the father (Aemilia Lepida, daughter of Lucius Aemilius Lepidus Paullus), or the nomen of both father and mother (Valeria Attia, daughter of Attius Atticus and Valeria Sextina).
Slaves originally had no name, but simply took their master’s praenomen in the genitive followed by -por (＝puer): Marcipor, Publipor, Quintipor. Later, when the number of slaves was largely increased, by way of distinction names similar to those common in Greece (national, physical or moral qualities) or simply foreign names were given them. The word puer was subsequently replaced by servus and the form of the name ran: Aphrodisius Ploti Gai servus; under the empire, Eleutherus C. Julii Florentini (the natural order being preserved in the master’s name). When a slave exchanged one master for another, he adopted the name of his old master in an adjectival form in -anus. Cissus Caesaris (servus) Maecenatianus (formerly a slave of Maecenas). Freedmen used their own name as a cognomen and took the nomen of him who gave them their freedom
