cognomina

Cognomina are the third element of the traditional Latin personal name and, in modern terms, correspond to what many languages call a surname or family name. The term cognomen itself means an additional name; in origin it often started as a nickname or descriptive epithet attached to an individual.

In ancient Rome a person’s full name typically consisted of praenomen (given name), nomen (gens or clan name), and cognomen (branch of the gens). The cognomen commonly designated a family subdivision, a characteristic, an occupation, or a place of origin. As families grew, cognomina could become hereditary within a gens, functioning as the family name. Some individuals also received agnomina, later epithets awarded for achievements or notable events, which resembled an additional cognomen.

Famous examples illustrate the system: Julius Caesar is often cited with Caesar as his cognomen; Marcus Tullius Cicero bore Cicero as a cognomen, thought to derive from a descriptor or nickname; Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus features Scipio as the cognomen and Africanus as an agnomen given for his campaigns in Africa. Over time, especially in the late Republic, cognomina frequently became the primary identifier, while praenomina fell out of common use in everyday speech.

In modern usage, cognomen is generally synonymous with surname, although in some discussions it retains a historical nuance referring to a hereditary family name as opposed to a given name. The term remains relevant in onomastics and the study of naming practices across cultures.