agnomen

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An agnomen (Latin: [aŋˈnoːmɛn]; pl.: agnomina), in the Roman naming convention, was a nickname, just as the cognomen had been initially. However, the cognomina eventually became family names, and so agnomina were needed to distinguish between similarly-named persons. However, as the agnomen was an additional and optional component in a Roman name, not all Romans had an agnomen. Pseudo-Probus uses the hero of the Punic Wars, Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus, as an example: Men's personal names are of four types, praenomen, nomen, cognomen and agnomen: praenomen for instance Publius, nomen Cornelius, cognomen Scipio and agnomen Africanus. Marius Victorinus further elucidates: Now the agnomen comes from outside, and in three styles, from personality or physique or achievements: From personality, such as Superbus ["Haughty"] and Pius [displaying the Roman syndrome of virtues including honesty, reverence to the gods, devotion to family and state, etc.], from physique, such as Crassus ["Fatty"] and Pulcher ["Handsome"], or from achievements, such as Africanus and Creticus [from their victories in Africa and on Crete]. Africanus, Creticus and the likes are also known as victory titles. For example, Gnaeus Marcius Coriolanus earned his from the capture of Corioli.