Lucius (praenomen)

This article is about the Latin praenomen. For other uses and a list of individuals with this name, see Lucius and Lucius (disambiguation).

Lucius (/ˈluːʃ(i)əs/ LOO-sh(ee-)əs, Latin: [ˈluːkiʊs]) is a Latin praenomen, or personal name, which was one of the most common names throughout Roman history.[1] The feminine form is Lucia (/ˈluːʃiə, luːˈtʃiːə/ LOO-shee-ə, loo-CHEE-ə, Latin: [ˈluːkia]).[2][3] The praenomen was used by both patrician and plebeian families, and gave rise to the patronymic gentes Lucia and Lucilia.[4] It was regularly abbreviated L.[5][6]

Throughout Roman history, Lucius was the most common praenomen, used slightly more than Gaius and somewhat more than Marcus. Although a number of prominent families rarely or never used it,[7][8][9] it was amongst the most frequently given names in countless others.[8] The name survived the collapse of the Western Empire in the fifth century, and has continued into modern times.

  1. ^ Chase, "The Origin of Roman Praenomina", pp. 156, 157.
  2. ^ Varro, De Lingua Latina, ix. 60.
  3. ^ De Praenominibus, 7.
  4. ^ Chase, pp. 125, 130 (and note 2).
  5. ^ Mommsen, Römische Forschungen, p. 17.
  6. ^ Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, p. 1102 ("Nomen").
  7. ^ Suetonius, "The Life of Tiberius", 1.
  8. ^ a b Mommsen, Römische Forschungen, pp. 15–17.
  9. ^ Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol. I, p. 762 ("Claudia Gens").