Publius Dionysius Mus omnibus salutem
Tiberius wrote:
back when I was still studying Latin, I was always told that a Roman had only three names:
- a praenomen (his first name)
- his familyname (I forgot what it was called)
- a cognomen (something special about that person e.g. Africanus, ...)
I've never heard of 4 parts in a Roman name before. Although there was a tim when my borther, Draco, called himself Gnaeus Dionysius Scorpio Invictus but he eventually stopped using this (thank the gods for that )
That was the theory... however in practice there are a few nice and strange examples not following this rule:
Quintus Avelius Priscus Severius Severus Annavus Rufus
(AE 1961, 109)
BTW, the record holder is a man with 36 cognomina... When I have the time, I will try to trace where he is mentioned.
People often added their filiatio and tribus to their name, as in our previous example:
Quintus Avelius Quinti filius Sergia tribus Priscus ...
In the near future (whenever that will be) I may write a small essay on Roman names...
And for Curio: I have no information on Claudius Pulcher or his names ...
Optamo vobis bene valere