style="font-family: tahoma;">Narro Nomen: 

style="font-family: tahoma;">Guide to Making a Roman Name

By Darkgolem



Choosing a roman
name is a fun way to assist in your immersion into the genre of Gods
and Heroes.  The Romans had multiple names, and these names had
were used by different groups of people in a Roman citizens life. 
However, the picking a name is a complex process, and hopefully the
below information can assist you in this.
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There are essentially 4 types of
Roman names, all associated with the same individual.
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The first three I will mention are
the Tria Nomina (personal, clan and family names).  There are also
(what are basically) nick names, known as Agnomen.
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Praenomen:

The first was the
Praenomen (or Praenomina for females).  These names are used
within members of your family, and distinguish you from other members
of your family.  It is very, very, informal when used by itself,
and should only be used alone when you are a close relative or a close
friend of the individual you are addressing.
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href="http://tth.tentonhammer.com/modules.php?full=1&set_albumName=album155&id=Rome_2006_08_31_16_15_41_35_PNG_jpgcopy&op=modload&name=gallery&file=index&include=view_photo.php"> alt="Soldiers Talking"
src="http://media.tentonhammer.com/tth/gallery/albums/album155/Rome_2006_08_31_16_15_41_35_PNG_jpgcopy.jpg"
style="border: 2px solid ; width: 250px;" align="right">Cognomen:

Cognomen is a family
name, shared by your blood relatives.  It can refer to the area of
origin, appearance, profession or otherwise of the patron of your
family.  Usually it is used in the form of Nomen and Cognomen
(clan and family), but the most flattering form of name use is
Praenomen and then Cognomen, and is properly used for addressing
nobility.

Nomen:

Your Nomen is the
clan (gens) name of your family.  Your gens is not your blood
family, but a collection of families who share the same nomen. 
Generally a noman and praenomen are used together for day to day use
for use between commoners (Praenomen first).
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Agnomen:

Finally there is the
Agnomen, which is a Roman nickname.  These names are used after a
Cognomen, and sometimes distinguish you from other similarly named
individuals of your family.  Agnomens seem to be developed from
something individual about the person named.  For example, a
common man who defeated a href="http://tth.tentonhammer.com/modules.php?full=1&set_albumName=album155&id=GNHGladiatorDuelInArena_PNG_jpgcopy&op=modload&name=gallery&file=index&include=view_photo.php">lion
in the gladiatorial pits might be called “Leonus” as part of his name,
with the order being Praenomen, Nomen and Agnomen.  Rarely are
Agnomen’s passed as a hereditary title.
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Bringing It All
Together

Now that we are
aware of how names work, let us bring them all together.
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href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/11811"> src="/image/view/78292"
style="border: 2px solid ; width: 250px; height: 387px;" align="left">I
am making a href="http://gods.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=131">scout
character, and as a backstory, my family has served as soldiers for
many years.  My clan will be Ten Ton Hammer (or in this case,
Maul), since this will fit my guild name.  I do some checking on
the internet, and find under a search of "Praenomen List" that
Postumius (meaning born after his father’s death) works.  Great, I
have “Postimius” as a Praenomen, and evidently my father suffered an
early death.  Poor fellow. 
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My family name will be based on the
Roman word for soldiers (my family coming from a long line of
soldiers).  “Mereo” means serve as a soldier… perfect.  So
far I have Postimius Mereo Stipes.  Stipes means (amusingly
enough) club, tree trunk or blockhead, the closest I can find for the
latin word for hammer.  Now I just need my Agnomen.  
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Since I have broken off from my
family tradition and become a scout (“rather than a soldier”, as my
father who died before I was born would have disapprovingly said), I
will take archer as my nickname.  More searching for the latin
words on the internet brings me to Arcus (which means bow, or bow and
arrows).



So now I have a nice latin name,
Postimus Mereo Stipes Arcus.  In English this would translate
roughly as Postimus “the archer” of the family Mereo (of soldiers), of
the clan Stipes (the blockheads).  This is just perfect. 
Well, ok so I am a blockhead, but hey, I can live with it.  Still
sounds cool.



To my very close friends and family
members, I might be called Postimus alone, though even my wife wouldn’t
nescessarily be so liberal.  Someone trying to flatter me might
call me as one would address a nobleman, Postimus Mereo.  However,
for more common use, I would be called Postimus Stipes, or someone
might just call me Arcus if they are friendly enough to use a nickname.
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Here are some other ones, based upon
being scions of the gods, that are kind of catchy.  Remember the
order is different when translated.
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Iratus Magus Stipes Aduro : 
Wrathful (The Burner) of the Magician Family, of the Clan Stipes.
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Pium Equitis Stipes Bellicius :
Dutiful (The Warlike) of the Horseman Family, of the Clan Stipes
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Votum Pium Stipes Sedo : 
Prayer (The Calm) of the Pious Family, of Clan Stipes (note Pium has
different meanings for the same word)
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Sollicitus Erturia Stipes Erro :
Restless (The Wanderer) of the Erturia (from href="http://godsandheroes.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=56">Erturia
that is) Family, of Clan Stipes.



Welcome to enjoyment of Roman
names!  Like to make a name for yourself?  Talk about it href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?p=167484#post167484">in
our forums!