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Where can I find lists of Latin (Roman) names?

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TheBorderPrince Just passing by... from my secret base Since: Mar, 2010
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#1: Feb 10th 2022 at 7:34:20 AM

I'm looking for somewhere I can find lists of Latin (as in Roman) and Latinized names and their meainings. Preferably a full list of Roman Tria Nomia as well. (Tria Nomia is the Roman way of naming): Praenomen (name), Nomen (surname), cognomen (nickname). Wikipedias lists of Roman names gives a few examples, but not enough, especially not when it comes to the meanings of the names. And I want to use lots of Meaningfull Names for my fantasy Romans... Thanks in advance...

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ArsThaumaturgis Since: Nov, 2011 Relationship Status: I've been dreaming of True Love's Kiss
#2: Feb 10th 2022 at 1:35:02 PM

I don't know how useful or reliable it is, but perhaps the following page will at least provide some information:
https://www.behindthename.com/names/usage/ancient-roman

Edited by ArsThaumaturgis on Feb 10th 2022 at 11:35:09 AM

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WarJay77 Big Catch, Sparkle Edition from The Void (Troper Knight) Relationship Status: Armed with the Power of Love
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#3: Feb 10th 2022 at 1:55:35 PM

Yeah, pretty much any website like that will give you a list.

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aPod-ofSeals That there is a seal. from the biggest planet on Earth Since: Jan, 2021 Relationship Status: Is that a kind of food?
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#4: Feb 11th 2022 at 7:16:12 PM

Keep in mind time period: if you're writing a historical setting, that means the time period you're actually writing in, but if you're writing in a fantasy world, that probably means the time period you're trying to evoke. (Of course, in a fantasy world you can also play a little fast and loose with the rules.)

This especially applies to the praenomen. There have never been many praenomina, but the number has changed significantly: In the early Republic days, there were, according to Wikipedia, about fifty (found here; keep in mind that "uncommon" just means "uncommon in surviving records," and evidence indicates that names uncommon in Rome or among the elites [i.e. the people we have more records of] were more common outside of Rome and among the plebeians). But by the time of the late Republic and certainly by the time of the first emperor, there were far fewer. This, according to my Latin textbook, was the later list (not counting names specific to certain gens, or extended families):

Aulus Gaius Gnaeus Decimus Lucius Marcus Manius Mamercus (rare) Publius Quintus Sextus Servius Spurius Titus Tiberius

And that's it (although it was at one point fashionable for patricians to revive old praenomina). The early republic also had female praenomen (see here [Wikipedia again] for a list, and for why they stopped using them).

Also remember that cognomina were often bestowed by others. So a cognomen can be used very effectively to show what other people think of a character.

Edited by aPod-ofSeals on Feb 11th 2022 at 9:16:48 AM

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