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Jay R
Lv 5
Jay R asked in Arts & HumanitiesHistory · 1 decade ago

At what point did the Roman praenomen stop being limited to the original list of twelve?

Obviously the rise of Christianity contributed to the rise of names like John, but the Byzantine emperor Justinian's praenomen was Flavius - when did they stop being limited to the previous list of twelve? The Byzantines still considered themselves at that point to be Roman - Diocletian's praenomen was Gaius, which was on the original list.

Thanks to everyone who answers!

Update:

Edited: I was wondering more about the shift from the Western to Eastern empire in the third / fourth centuries AD and the list of twelve that was prevalent in the later Empire, but thanks for the answer and the links! It could well be that there is no set answer.

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  • Randal
    Lv 7
    1 decade ago
    Favorite Answer

    The praenomen (literally forename, plural praenomina) was a personal name chosen by the parents of a Roman child. It was first bestowed on the dies lustricus (day of lustration), the eighth day after the birth of a girl, or the ninth day after the birth of a boy. The praenomen would then be formally conferred a second time when girls married, or when boys assumed the toga virilis upon reaching manhood.

    By the 1st century B.C., the praenomina remaining in general use at Rome were: Appius, Aulus, Caeso, Decimus, Gaius, Gnaeus, Lucius, Mamercus, Manius, Marcus, Numerius, Publius, Quintus, Servius, Sextus, Spurius, Titus, and Tiberius.

    In the early centuries of the Roman Republic, about three dozen praenomina seem to have been in general use at Rome, of which about half were common. This number gradually dwindled to about eighteen praenomina by the 1st century B.C., of which perhaps a dozen were common.

    ==> Therefore, the number of praenomina fluctuated throughout the Roman domination.

    I hope this is helpful.

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