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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Yaarel" data-source="post: 7374577" data-attributes="member: 58172">I see what you are saying. Caesarean section happened earlier in the family.The main point is, what is being called a ‘family name’ isnt a family name, like Smith. It is a personal name, like John. The kids are simply being named after the father. Like, John C. Smith the First, John C. Smith the Second, John C. Smith the Third, and so on.In the days of the Julius Caesar, the cognomen is still a cognomen, a less important distinguishing name. Caesar isnt a ‘family name’ per se. Several families, including the family of the Julius Caesar, have the tradition of naming the legitimate male heir the same name as the father. The same full name.There were many generations in a row, named ‘Gaius Julius Caesar’.The Julius Caesar appears to be Gaius Julius Caesar ‘the Fourth’.When the Julius Caesar adopted ‘Gaius Octavius Thurinus’, the adopted son became the legal heir, thus changed his name to ‘Gaius Julius Caesar’ as well, becoming the Fifth.This adopted son used his new cognomen ‘Caesar’ as his *personal name*, the name that he went by. (Like John.) He will actually change his name many times, but he will continue to use Caesar as his personal name.This adopted son will go thru many name changes, and eventually become the first emperor, and eventually get the name Augustus as a quasi royal title that he will add to his own name as an extra cognomen. There are at least six aliases!• Gaius Octavius Thurinus• Gaius Julius Caesar ‘Octavianus’• Gaius Julius Caesar• Gaius Julius Caesar ‘Divi Filius’ • ‘Imperator’ Caesar Divi Filius• Imperator Caesar Divi Filius ‘Augustus’The first four aliases are conventional: praenomen-nomen-cognomen plus extra cognomina. With adoption, he legally gains a new clan name Julius. Plus he gains Octavianus as a formulaic name recalling his birth clan, but he distanced himself from it and dropped it. Later he added a sacred name, Divi Filius, as a cognomen. It literally means ‘son of the divine’, in honor of when the Senate officially deified his adoptive father Julius Caesar.However, the fifth alias is radical. He actually deletes his clan name from his legal name. And replaces it with the title ‘Imperator’. Possibly the title serves as a quasi clan name, where all Roman citizens are considered to be members of his family, thus obedient to him as the patriarch (pater familias).At the same time, he drops his praenomen ‘Gaius’. It is around this time that Romans are starting to downplay their praenomen, and use their cognomen as the personal name. By dropping his praenomen, the personal name that he went by is clearly his cognomen ‘Caesar’.Later the Senate awarded him with the honorary title ‘Augustus’, and he added this title to his name as an extra cognomen.Note the transformation of his name.• Gaius (praenomen) Julius (nomen) Caesar (cognomen)• Imperator (title) Caesar (cognomen) Divi Filius (cognomen) Augustus (cognomen)The cognomen Caesar is actually his personal name. Heh, like I mentioned earlier, the imperial names get complicated.</blockquote>

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