List of Roman gentes: Difference between revisions

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The gens (plural gentes) was a Roman family, of Italic or Etruscan origins, consisting of all those individuals who shared the same nomen and claimed descent from a common ancestor. It was an important social and legal structure in early Roman history.^[1]^[2]

The distinguishing characteristic of a gens was the nomen gentilicium, or gentile name. Every member of a gens, whether by birth or adoption, bore this name. All nomina were based on other nouns, such as personal names, occupations, physical characteristics or behaviors, or locations. Consequently, most of them ended with the adjectival termination -ius (-ia in the feminine form).^[1]

Nomina ending in -aius, -eius, -eus, and -aeus are typical of Latin families. Faliscan gentes frequently had nomina ending in -ios, while Samnite and other Oscan-speaking peoples of southern Italy had nomina ending in -iis. Umbrian nomina typically end in -as, -anas, -enas, or -inas, while nomina ending in -arna, -erna, -ena, -enna, -ina, or -inna are characteristic of Etruscan families.^[1]

The word gens is feminine, and the name of a gens was also feminine. Marcus Valerius Corvus was a member of gens Valeria. Valerius was his nomen. His son's nomen would have been Valerius, and his daughter's Valeria. Male members of his gens were collectively called Valerii, and female members Valeriae. If a member of the gens were adopted into another family, he would assume the nomen of that gens, followed by the cognomen Valerianus.^[2]

In the following list, "I" and "J" are treated as separate letters, as are "U" and "V". The letter "K" was rare in Latin, and the few nomina occasionally spelled with this letter were usually spelled with "C". No Roman gentes began with "X", and the letters "Y" and "Z" occurred only in names borrowed from Greek. The letter "W" did not exist in Classical Latin.

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C

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I

J

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U

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References

^ ^a ^b ^c Harper's Dictionary of Classical Literature and Antiquities, Second Edition, Harry Thurston Peck, Editor (1897)
^ ^a ^b Oxford Classical Dictionary, 2nd Ed. (1970)

[hdca-1] Harper's Dictionary of Classical Literature and Antiquities, Second Edition, Harry Thurston Peck, Editor (1897)

[oxford-2] Oxford Classical Dictionary, 2nd Ed. (1970)

[1]

[2]

@@ Line 457: / Line 457: @@
 * [[Nerfinia gens|Nerfinia]]
 * [[Neria gens|Neria]]
-* Nicomachi
 * [[Nigidia gens|Nigidia]]
 * [[Ninnia gens|Ninnia]]
@@ Line 592: / Line 591: @@
 * [[Quinctia gens|Quinctia]]
 * [[Quinctilia gens|Quinctilia]]
+* [[Quintinia gens|Quintinia]]
 * [[Quirinia gens|Quirinia]]
 {{div col end}}
@@ Line 789: / Line 789: @@
 * [[Tituria gens|Tituria]]
 * [[Titurnia gens|Titurnia]]
+* [[Tolumnia gens|Tolumnia]]
 * [[Traia gens|Traia]]
 * [[Traula gens|Traula]]
@@ Line 850: / Line 851: @@
 {{div col|colwidth=7em}}
 * [[Valeria gens|Valeria]]
+* [[Valentia gens|Valentia]]
+* [[Valgia gens|Valgia]]
+* [[Vallia gens|Vallia]]
+* [[Vannia gens|Vannia]]
 * [[Varena gens|Varena]]
-* [[Varia gens|Varia]]
+* [[Vargunteia gens|Vargunteia]]
+* [[Varia gens|Varia]]<!--probably the same as Varria-->
 * [[Varinia gens|Varinia]]
 * [[Varisidia gens|Varisidia]]
 * [[Vatinia gens|Vatinia]]
+* [[Vatronia gens|Vatronia]]
 * [[Vecilia gens|Vecilia]]
 * [[Vedia gens|Vedia]]
@@ Line 887: / Line 894: @@
 * [[Vigilia gens|Vigilia]]
 * [[Villia gens|Villia]]
-* [[Vinia gens|Vinia]]
+* [[Vinia gens|Vinia]]<!--probably the same as Vinnia-->
-* [[Vinicia gens|Vinicia]]
+* [[Vinicia gens|Vinicia]]<!--probably the same as Vinnicia-->
 * [[Vipsania gens|Vipsania]]
 * [[Vipstana gens|Vipstana]]
@@ Line 907: / Line 914: @@
 * [[Vorenia gens|Vorenia]]
 * [[Vulia gens|Vulia]]
-* [[Vulpesya gens|Vulpesya]]
 {{div col end}}

Latest revision as of 05:52, 30 July 2024

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See also

References