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Acognomen (Latin:[kɔŋˈnoːmɛn];[1]pl.:cognomina; fromco- "together with" and(g)nomen "name") was the third name of a citizen ofancient Rome, underRoman naming conventions. Initially, it was anickname, but lost that purpose when it became hereditary. Hereditarycognomina were used to augment the second name, thenomen gentilicium (thefamily 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.
Because of the limited nature of the Latinpraenomen, thecognomen 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 isGnaeus Pompeius Magnus, whose cognomenMagnus was earned after his military victories underSulla's dictatorship. Thecognomen was a form of distinguishing people who accomplished important feats, and those who already bore acognomen were awarded another exclusive name, theagnomen. For example,Publius Cornelius Scipio received the agnomenAfricanus after his victory over the Carthaginian generalHannibal 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 beenAfer); and the same procedure occurred in the names ofQuintus Caecilius MetellusNumidicus (conqueror of Numidia) andQuintus Caecilius MetellusMacedonicus.
In contrast to the honorarycognomina adopted by successful generals, mostcognomina were based on a physical or personality quirk; for example,Rufus meaning "red-haired" orScaevola meaning "left-handed". Some cognomina were hereditary (such asCaesar among a branch of theJulii, Brutus and Silanus among theJunii, or Pilius andMetellus among theCaecilii): others tended to be individual. And some names appear to have been used both aspraenomen,agnomen, or non-hereditarycognomen. For instance,Vopiscus was used as bothpraenomen andcognomen in the Julii Caesares; likewiseNero among the early imperialClaudii, several of whom used the traditional hereditary Claudian cognomen as a praenomen.
The upper-class usually used thecognomen to refer to one another.[2]
In present academic context, many prominent ancient Romans are referred to by only theircognomen; for example,Cicero (fromcicer "chickpea") serves as a shorthand for Marcus Tullius Cicero, andCaesar forGaius Julius Caesar.
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 theRandom House Dictionary, cognomen can mean a "surname" or "any name, especially a nickname".[3] The basic sense in English is "how one is well known". For exampleAlfred the Great. (This is more similar to the Roman use ofagnomen than their use of cognomen.)
Catalancognom andItaliancognome, derived from the Latincognomen, mean "family name".Maltesekunjom 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 theXhosa (Iziduko), theYoruba (Oriki), and theZulu (Izibongo).
