{"id":405,"date":"2009-10-05T16:36:06","date_gmt":"2009-10-05T20:36:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rpggm.com\/blog\/?p=405"},"modified":"2010-07-22T18:20:05","modified_gmt":"2010-07-22T22:20:05","slug":"beyond-fred-roman-names-for-characters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rpggm.com\/blog\/2009\/10\/05\/beyond-fred-roman-names-for-characters\/","title":{"rendered":"Beyond &#8216;Fred&#8217;: Roman Names for Characters"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Finding a good name is sometimes the hardest part of designing an NPC. You want something more exotic than &#8220;Fred the Fighter&#8221;, but &#8220;Frewxyque the Grand Thunder Duke&#8221; becomes too hard to say with a straight face after the first first time.\u00a0 Baby name books can help, but some of the best names come from real-world sources. <cite>Beyond &#8216;Fred&#8217;<\/cite> is a series that lists names from various sources broken down by region and\/or time period.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-415 alignleft\" title=\"Roman Woman\" src=\"http:\/\/www.rpggm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/roman-woman-small.jpg\" alt=\"&lt;div xmlns:cc=&quot;http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/ns#&quot; about=&quot;http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/consciousvision\/3388909371\/&quot;&gt;&lt;a rel=&quot;cc:attributionURL&quot; href=\" width=\" mce_href=\" height=\"199\" \/>This time we have Roman names. Since my interest here is in providing name ideas for RPGs, I&#8217;m not breaking these names down by Roman time-period. I&#8217;m including a list of resources at the end of this article for those wishing more in-depth information about Roman names.<\/p>\n<p>(<a href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/consciousvision\/3388909371\/\">Photo courtesy of Flickr, \u00a9 Conscious Vision 2007<\/a>)<\/p>\n<h3>Roman Name Structure<\/h3>\n<p>Roman names had several parts, frequently becoming long and complex:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em><strong>Praenomen<\/strong>:<\/em> A personal name. This was primarily used by family members and very close friends only. Romans had very few <em>praenomen<\/em>; typically the first child would be given the father&#8217;s <em>praenomen <\/em>(adjusted to a feminine form, if the child was a girl).\u00a0 The second child would receive the <em>praenomen <\/em>of someone else in the family &#8212; and uncle, perhaps.<\/li>\n<li><em><strong>Nomen<\/strong>:<\/em> Indicates which gens the person belongs to. The gens is a group of loosely organized families all sharing the same <em>nomen<\/em>. A woman would use the feminine form of the nomen, formed by substituting &#8216;-a&#8217; for the &#8216;-us&#8217; ending.<\/li>\n<li><em><strong>Cognomen<\/strong>:<\/em> A family name used by a group of blood relatives. It was a name unique to the individual and usually referred to something specific about him &#8212; usually a physical characteristic. Like a nickname, it wasn&#8217;t given to a child as part of the name given by his parents; it could be inherited from a male relative or chosen by concensus in the general community. <em>Cognomen <\/em>were almost never complementary &#8212; usually they were neutral, or even insulting names.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Common Praenomenia<\/h3>\n<p>Here are some of the most commonly used <em>prenomen:<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li> Gaius\/Gaia<\/li>\n<li>Lucius\/Lucia<\/li>\n<li>Marcus\/Marcia<\/li>\n<li>Quintus\/Quinta<\/li>\n<li>Titus\/Tita<\/li>\n<li>Tiberius\/Tiberia<\/li>\n<li>Descimus\/Descima<\/li>\n<li>Aulus\/Aula<\/li>\n<li>Servius\/Servia<\/li>\n<li>Appius\/Appia<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Common Nomenia<\/h3>\n<p>Here are some of the most common <em>nomen:<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Acilius\/Acilia<\/li>\n<li>Aebutius\/Aebutia<\/li>\n<li>Albius\/Albia<\/li>\n<li>Antonius\/Antonia<\/li>\n<li>Cassius\/Cassia<\/li>\n<li>Claudius\/Claudia<\/li>\n<li>Calidius\/Calidia<\/li>\n<li>Didius\/Didia<\/li>\n<li>Fabius\/Fabia<\/li>\n<li>Flavius\/Flavia<\/li>\n<li>Galerius\/Galeria<\/li>\n<li>Genucius\/Genucia<\/li>\n<li>Laelius\/Laelia<\/li>\n<li>Marius\/Maria<\/li>\n<li>Mocius\/Mocia<\/li>\n<li>Naevius\/Naevia<\/li>\n<li>Ovidius\/Ovidia<\/li>\n<li>Porcius\/Porcia<\/li>\n<li>Rutilius\/Rutilia<\/li>\n<li>Sentius\/Sentia<\/li>\n<li>Sergius\/Sergia<\/li>\n<li>Tarquitius\/Tarquitia<\/li>\n<li>Tuccius\/Tuccia<\/li>\n<li>Tullius\/Tullia<\/li>\n<li>Vedius\/Vedia<\/li>\n<li>Vibius\/Vibia<\/li>\n<li>Vitruvius\/Vitruvia<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Common Cognomina<\/h3>\n<p>Here&#8217;s a list of common cognomen and their meanings. Many female cognomia are the same as the male versions:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Aculeo\/Aculeo &#8211; prickly, unfriendly<\/li>\n<li>Albus\/Alba &#8211; fair-skinned, white<\/li>\n<li>Ambustus\/Ambusta &#8211; scalding, burning<\/li>\n<li>Atellus\/Atella &#8211; dark (haired or skinned)<\/li>\n<li>Bassus\/Bassa &#8211; plump<\/li>\n<li>Bibulus\/Bibula &#8211; drunkard<\/li>\n<li>Brocchus\/Broccha &#8211; Toothy<\/li>\n<li>Bucco\/Bucco &#8211; fool<\/li>\n<li>Caecus\/Caeca &#8211; Blind<\/li>\n<li>Calidus\/Calida &#8211; hot-headed, rash<\/li>\n<li>Calvus\/Calva &#8211; bald<\/li>\n<li>Caninus\/Canina &#8211; dog-like<\/li>\n<li>Celsus\/Celsa &#8211; tall<\/li>\n<li>Cicurinus\/Cicurina &#8211; mild, gentle<\/li>\n<li>Corvinus\/Corvina &#8211; crow-like<\/li>\n<li>Dives\/Dives &#8211; wealthy<\/li>\n<li>Dorsuo\/Dorsuo &#8211; large black<\/li>\n<li>Fimbria\/Fimbria &#8211; fringes, edges of clothing<\/li>\n<li>Flavus\/Flava &#8211; blond-haired<\/li>\n<li>Florus\/Flora &#8211; floral, blooming<\/li>\n<li>Galeo\/Galeo &#8211; helmet<\/li>\n<li>Gurges\/Gurges &#8211; greedy, prodigal<\/li>\n<li>Laterensis\/Laterensis &#8211; from the hill-side<\/li>\n<li>Lepidus\/Lepida &#8211; charming, amusing<\/li>\n<li>Licinus\/Licina &#8211; spiky or bristly haired<\/li>\n<li>Lurco\/Lurco &#8211; glutonous, greedy<\/li>\n<li>Macer\/Macra &#8211; thin<\/li>\n<li>Merula\/Merula &#8211; blackbird<\/li>\n<li>Mus\/Mus &#8211; mouse<\/li>\n<li>Natta\/Natta &#8211; artisan<\/li>\n<li>Paetus\/Paeta &#8211; blinking, squinty<\/li>\n<li>Plancus Planca &#8211; flat-footed<\/li>\n<li>Priscus\/Prisca &#8211; ancient<\/li>\n<li>Pullus\/Pulla &#8211; child<\/li>\n<li>Quadratus\/Quadrata &#8211; squat, stocky build<\/li>\n<li>Regulus\/Regula &#8211; prince<\/li>\n<li>Rufus\/Rufa &#8211; red-haired, ruddy<\/li>\n<li>Rullus\/Rulla &#8211; rustic, uncultivated, boorish<\/li>\n<li>Scaeva\/Scaeva &#8211; left-handed<\/li>\n<li>Silanus\/Silana &#8211; nose, water-spout<\/li>\n<li>Varro\/Varro &#8211; block-headed<\/li>\n<li>Varus\/Vara &#8211; bow-legged<\/li>\n<li>Vatia\/Vatia &#8211; knock-kneed<\/li>\n<li>Vetus\/Vetus &#8211; old<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Other Articles in this Series<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rpggm.com\/blog\/2010\/02\/12\/beyond-fred-italian-names-for-characters\/\">Beyond &#8216;Fred&#8217;: Italian Names for Characters<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rpggm.com\/blog\/2009\/11\/06\/beyond-fred-russian-names-for-characters\/\">Beyond &#8216;Fred&#8217;: Russian Names for Characters<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rpggm.com\/blog\/2010\/07\/22\/beyond-fred-anglo-saxon-names-for-characters\/\">Beyond \u2018Fred\u2019: Anglo-Saxon Names for Characters<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Resources:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.behindthename.com\/glossary\/view\/roman_names\">Behind the Name: Roman Names<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.forumromanum.org\/life\/johnston_2.html\">Private Life of Romans, The<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.novaroma.org\/nr\/Roman_name\">Roman Name<\/a> (has lists of even more Roman names than I could fit here)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/ancienthistory.about.com\/od\/romannames1\/Rome_Roman_Names.htm\">Rome &#8211; Roman Names<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Finding a good name is sometimes the hardest part of designing an NPC. You want something more exotic than &#8220;Fred the Fighter&#8221;, but &#8220;Frewxyque the Grand Thunder Duke&#8221; becomes too hard to say with a straight face after the first &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rpggm.com\/blog\/2009\/10\/05\/beyond-fred-roman-names-for-characters\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[66,17,65,64],"class_list":["post-405","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-musings","tag-beyond-fred","tag-character-creation","tag-names","tag-roman"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rpggm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/405","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rpggm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rpggm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rpggm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rpggm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=405"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/www.rpggm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/405\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":839,"href":"https:\/\/www.rpggm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/405\/revisions\/839"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rpggm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=405"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rpggm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=405"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rpggm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=405"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}