Agnomen

{{Short description|Optional nickname in the Roman Republic}} {{Refimprove|date=December 2009}} {{Italics title}} An '''''agnomen''''' ({{IPA|la|aŋˈnoːmɛn|lang}}; {{plural form}}: ''agnomina''), in the Roman naming convention, was a nickname, just as the ''cognomen'' had been initially. However, the ''cognomina'' eventually became family names, and so ''agnomina'' were needed to distinguish between similarly-named persons. However, as the ''agnomen'' was an additional and optional component in a Roman name, not all Romans had an ''agnomen''.

Pseudo-Probus uses the hero of the Punic Wars, Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus, as an example: {{quote|Men's personal names are of four types, ''praenomen'', ''nomen'', ''cognomen'' and ''agnomen'': ''praenomen'' for instance Publius, ''nomen'' Cornelius, ''cognomen'' Scipio and ''agnomen'' Africanus.}}

Marius Victorinus further elucidates: {{quote|Now the ''agnomen'' comes from outside, and in three styles, from personality or physique or achievements: From personality, such as Superbus ["Haughty"] and Pius [displaying the Roman syndrome of virtues including honesty, reverence to the gods, devotion to family and state, ''etc.''], from physique, such as Crassus ["Fatty"] and Pulcher ["Handsome"], or from achievements, such as Africanus and Creticus [from their victories in Africa and on Crete].}}

Africanus, Creticus and the likes are also known as victory titles. For example, Gnaeus Marcius Coriolanus earned his from the capture of Corioli.

==Etymology== Latin ''agnōmen'' (also spelled {{lang|la|adnomen}}) comes from ''ad'' "to" and ''nōmen'' "name".<ref>{{OED|agnomen}}</ref><ref>{{L&S|agnomen|agnōmen|ref}}</ref>

==Caligula== As a minimum, a Roman ''agnomen'' is a name attached to an individual's full titulature after birth and formal naming by the family. True Roman nicknames, fully replacing the individual's name in usage, are rare. One such example in which the nickname fully replaced the individual's name in usage was the Emperor Caligula; that name was used in place of and not along with his full name, which was Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus. Caligula's ''praenomen'' was Gaius, his ''nomen'' Julius, his ''cognomen'' Caesar. Some ''agnomina'' were inherited like ''cognomina'' and thus established a sub-family. Caligula's ''agnomen'' came from the little boots that he wore as part of his miniature soldier's uniform while accompanying his father, Germanicus, on campaigns in northern Germania. In turn, Germanicus received his agnomen in 9 BC, when it was posthumously awarded to his father Nero Claudius Drusus in honour of his Germanic victories. At birth, Germanicus had been known as either Nero Claudius Drusus, after his father, or Tiberius Claudius Nero, after his uncle. Like Caligula, Germanicus is mostly referred to by his agnomen.

==Comparison with pseudonyms== An ''agnomen'' is not a pseudonym but a real name and is an addition to, not a substitution for, an individual's full name.

==References== {{Reflist}}

Category:Roman naming conventions