vikio t1_it0a9x7 wrote
Reply to comment by GedichteundKunst in One of the longest ancient Roman inscriptions ever discovered in Britain is to go on display for the first time. by Demderdemden
Now translate it again, but including all the names translated to what they mean. Like I'm guessing Felix means "happy"? And Septimius means "the seventh"?
Tiako t1_it11yu8 wrote
I am trying to think of how to put this, so if this isn't helpful I'll try another way.
Broadly speaking, a high status Roman name has three "neccesary" parts (tria nomina), but can also have honorifics attached to. In practical terms, think of Scipio Africanus, the man who defeated Hannibal. His full name would be (1)Publius (2)Cornelius (3)Scipio, and he was later granted the title (4)Africanus. "Publius" would be like a personal name ("praenomen"), the equivalent of "John" or "Robert". "Cornelius" indicates the broad family ("clan") he comes from: the "Cornelii" were a very important "clan" in Roman society. "Scipio" indicates which branch of "gens Cornelia" he comes from. "Africanus" was then added to his name after his victory in, well, Africa.
Even under the Republic this could get complicated (Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus Aemilianus was born into the Aemilii but adopted by the son of Scipio Africanus, leading to a mouthful of a name). But when you get to the imperial period, when the emperor moght use their name to signal any number of things, it gets truly absurd.
So take Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Pius Felix Augustus. There are two emperors that might remind us of: Antoninus Pius (Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Pius) and Marcus Aurelius (Marcus Aurelius Antoninus), and this was by design because his father, the aforementioned Lucius Septimius Severus Pius Pertinax Augustus (known to us as Septimius Severus) changed his name as a way to show that he was a continuation of the previous imperial dynasty and borrow a bit of prestige from that. He is mostly known to us as "Caracalla".
This might seem a bit confusing and my only response is, yeah, it is.
RedDordit t1_it1tgqc wrote
This is not confusing at all (the way you put it, I mean). But it’s very complicated, and we have to consider these names were not regular like they might be in today’s Brazil: only nobles had these many names since it was, in fact, pompous. Regular people only had a praenomen, as they didn’t belong to a gens.
_PM_ME_PANGOLINS_ t1_it6ieal wrote
All Roman citizens had three names. Only slaves and foreigners would have fewer.
DaBoskie t1_it0j4un wrote
I have a son named Happy, born 7 days before my Nephew's son Felix. They're best friends. We had no idea they meant the same thing until now. Thank you!
_PM_ME_PANGOLINS_ t1_it1zdjj wrote
Felix is more “lucky” than “happy”.
BentPin t1_it2aszy wrote
Like Felice Navidad in Spanish? In that case happy seems more fitting.
_PM_ME_PANGOLINS_ t1_it2ccu1 wrote
Spanish and Latin are different languages.
If you mean "cheerful, jolly", then the Latin is laetus.
If you mean "lucky, fortunate", then the Latin is felix.
If you mean "blessed, prosperous", then the Latin is beatus.
If you mean "rejoicing, celebrating" then the Latin is gaudiam.
_PM_ME_PANGOLINS_ t1_it6htj1 wrote
A lot of the time (including today) people don't really think about what their names mean, they're just names. And a lot of the older Roman names (Ceasar, Antony, Vincent) have no definite origin, but here goes:
Elephant of Light the Seventh Severe Pious Obstinate Majesty
Elephant of Mars the Golden Priceless Pious Lucky Majesty
People's Seventh Geta
Light's Conqueror the Pious
Rejoicing Strongman the Shy
Geta isn't Latin or Etruscan, but appears to refer to an ancient Romanian tribe.
Ordinal names (e.g. Seventh) were traditionally used for numbering siblings, not in the way we use Jr. or III today.
vikio t1_it6tk33 wrote
Yesss!!! This is what I was asking for. Isn't this much more fun to read? I love knowing the etymology of words, and I DO often think about what names mean. Thank you!
[deleted] t1_it0ez0z wrote
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[deleted] t1_it0fppf wrote
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Mister_Vandemar t1_it0fzht wrote
And, apparently, happy. When I took Latin, I learned it as lucky, but I’m hardly an authority on anything
_PM_ME_PANGOLINS_ t1_it6in1v wrote
There's about four different Latin words that sometimes get translated to "happy".
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