Since the dawn of time, once humans acquired the gift of speech, they have felt the need to name everything and everyone in their immediate world. While doing research for an Osher course I am teaching on ancient historians, I learned that the Romans used three names for most people. The first was the praenomen (first name), the second was the gens (family name), and the third was the cognomen (common name) by which the individual was called. The cognomen was based on either some physical characteristic or on some momentous deed, such as a military victory. Thus, the famous Julius Caesar’s full name was Gaius (praenomen) Julius (of the Julian family) Caesar (“fine head of hair”).… Read more
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