Caesonia

Caesonia is a Latin feminine given name derived from Caesar, reflecting the common Roman practice of forming female names from male family or title names. In antiquity, Caesonia appears as a personal name used for women connected with the broader naming traditions of the late Republic and early Empire.

The best-known bearer of the name is Julia Caesonia, who was married to the Emperor Caligula. In ancient biographies, she is presented as a figure at the imperial court with varying depictions in the sources. After Caligula’s assassination, Caesonia is reported to have been killed in the tumult surrounding the regime’s collapse, though precise details and motives differ among historians and surviving texts.

Beyond this figure, Caesonia occurs less frequently in the surviving Roman record, but the name is noted in onomastic studies of Latin-era naming practices. In later periods, the form Caesonia has occasionally appeared in literature or revived use as a proper name in contexts influenced by classical or Latin naming conventions. Some modern writers may employ Caesonia as a historical or fictional name to evoke ancient Rome.

In summary, Caesonia is a Roman-era feminine name of Latin origin linked most prominently to Julia Caesonia, the wife of Caligula, and it persists mainly as a historical or literary reference rather than as a common contemporary name.