15 Names Of Roman Origin For Girls
If you are a mom who loves classics and history, you will surely be inclined to choose names of Roman origin for girls. This option helps you narrow down your search a lot to focus on what you like the most. Without a doubt, it is an interesting choice and it will lead you to choose one of those names that has a lot of character and strength, as well as a very ancient and distinguished origin.
To support you in this endeavor, we have done research for you and created a list of various names dating back to the times of the legendary Romans. Hopefully you will find in this list one that really grabs you and is the one for your baby!
Roman names for girls
- Adriana : Roman name that refers to a person who comes from a place on the shores of the Adriatic Sea.
- Agustina : means ‘great or majestic woman’. It derives from Augustus, which means ‘similar to the majestic’ and from Augustinus , Roman cognomen .
- Cecilia : feminine of Cecilio. In the Roman Republic the women of the Gens Cecilia , a traditional and patrician family, were called that way .
- Claudia : derives from the Claudia gens , a relevant family in the Roman Republic whose origin is Sabino (pre-Roman italic).
- Fausta : feminine name of Roman origin that means ‘happy, prosperous, with good luck’.
- Fabiana : its meaning is ‘warrior’ and in Rome it was the name of the women of the Fabius family .
- Flavia : nomen of the women of the Gens Flavia , founding Roman family of the Flavian dynasty, which gave 3 emperors to Rome: Vespasian, Titus and Dominician.
- Gala : Roman name that was used for the name of women from the Gallia region.
- Julia : belonging to the G ens Iulia family of Rome, who considered themselves direct descendants of Julus , son of Aeneas, the father of Rome.
- Marcia : that’s what they called the women of the commoners Marcia . The meaning derives from Mavors , a god of the pre-Roman Italic cultures; later he was associated with Mars, the god of war.
- Nemesis : protective goddess of gladiators whose image appears on coins from the period of the Roman Emperor Claudius. There is a hymn in honor of Nemesis, written by the poet Mesomedes: “Nemesis, winged balancer of life / dark face of the goddess, daughter of Justice, / may her diamond bridle curb the insolence of frivolous mortals.”
- Octavia : this name formerly referred to the place that a daughter occupied in the offspring ( Prima, Secunda, Tertia, Quarta, Quinta, etc.), although it also refers to the females of the Octavia gens .
- Patricia : means ‘of noble descent’. Its origin is found in the social class of the patricians, who were the founding group of Rome, the first Roman aristocracy: the gens Valerio, Claudio, Fabio, Cornelio and Emilio .
- Valeria : it means ‘healthy woman’. It was used to call the women of the gens Valerio .
History of Roman female names
Roman men had what was called the tria nomina : proper name or praenomen , name of origin or of the tribe or nomen and cognomen, which responded to some different characteristic of the individual. Women, on the other hand, had names that were related to those of their parents, but the forms were evolving during Roman times.
During the period of the Roman Republic, women were given the name or nomen of their father. Thus, the women of the Cornelias gens were all called Cornelia; if there were several, the ordinal Prima, Secunda, Tertia, Minor, Maior , etc. were added to them .
In the Empire, women also began to inherit their father’s surname or cognomen . For example, the first Roman empress, Livia Drusilla , inherited from her father, Marcus Livius Drusus, her nomen and cognomen in the female version.
Later, women began to keep and inherit their names to their children. Especially if they had ancestors of aristocratic lineage and these were more important and distinguished than those of her husband. In many cases they also had the tria nomina that, until then, only men used.
Why choose a Roman name?
The greatness of the ancient Romans is still transmitted in their female names. Many of them were worn by the empresses of the great empire and are still used today.
Their history dates back hundreds of years, but this has made them classics and they always come up again in searches, even today. We could say that they are as eternal as Rome.
Roman names for girls are a particular choice related to the history and origins of Western culture. But you can also choose other names whose meaning has to do with geography, literature, movies, etc.
The important thing is that when you choose the name you are going to use to call your girl, it resonates like a melody. A sweet song that conveys love, tenderness and a lot of affection!
