15 Beautiful Roman Names For Girls
If you’re a mom who loves the classical era and history, then you’ll surely be inclined to choose Roman names for your girls. This option helps you narrow down your search to focus on what you like the most. Undoubtedly, it’s an interesting choice and will lead you to choose a name that has a lot of character and strength, as well as a very ancient and distinguished origin.
To support you in this task, we’ve done some research and created a list with several names that date back to the times of the legendary Romans. Hopefully, you’ll find in this list one that really catches your attention and is the right one for your baby!
Roman Names for Girls
- Adriana: A Roman name that refers to a person who comes from a place by the Adriatic Sea.
- Augustina: Means “great or majestic woman”. It comes from Augustus, which means “similar to the majestic” and from Augustinus, the Roman cognomen.
- Cecilia: The feminine version of Cecilius. In the Roman Republic, women of the Gens Cecilia, a patrician and traditional family, went by this name.
- Claudia: This name comes from the gens Claudia, a relevant family in the Roman Republic whose origin is Sabine (pre-Roman Italic).
- Fausta: A 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, a Roman founding family of the Flavian dynasty. This family gave 3 emperors to Rome: Vespasian, Titus, and Dominitian.
- Gala: A Roman name used to refer to women from the Gallia region.
- Julia: A name belonging to the Gens Iulia family of Rome, who considered themselves direct descendants of Julus, son of Aeneas, the father of Rome.
- Marcia: This was the name given to the women of the plebeian gens Marcia. The meaning comes from Mavors, a god of pre-Roman Italic cultures; later, it was associated with Mars, the god of war.
- Nemesis: Goddess protector of gladiators whose image appears on coins from the period of the Roman emperor Claudius. There’s a hymn in honor of Nemesis, written by the poet Mesomedes: “Nemesis, winged balancer of life, dark-faced goddess, daughter of Justice”.
- Octavia: This name formerly referred to a daughter’s place in the offspring (Prima, Secunda, Tertia, Quarta, Quinta, etc.), although it also refers to the females of the gens Octavia.
- Patricia: Means “of noble descent”. Its origin lies in the social class of the patricians, who were the founding group of Rome, the first Roman aristocracy: The gens Valerius, Claudius, Fabius, Cornelius, and Emilius.
- Valerie: This name means “healthy woman”. It was used to refer to the women of the gens Valerius.
The history of Roman female names
Roman men had what was called the tria nomina: Proper name or praenomen, name of origin or tribe, or nomen and cognomen, which responded to certain different individual characteristics. Women, on the other hand, had names that had to do with those of their fathers. However, the forms evolved during Roman times.
During the period of the Roman Republic, women received the name or nomen of their father. Thus, the women of the gens Cornelias all went by Cornelia; if there were several of them, then they added the ordinals Prima, Secunda, Tertia, Minor, Maior, etc..
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 pass their names on to their children. Especially if she 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 which, up to that time, only men used.
Why choose from among Roman names for girls?
The greatness of the ancient Romans is still present in their female names. The empresses of the great empire bore many of them, and they’re still in use today.
Their history goes back hundreds of years, and this itself has transformed them into classics. Therefore, they’ll always reappear in our searches, even today. In fact, we could say that they’re as eternal as Rome itself.
Roman names for girls are a particular choice tracing back to the history and origins of Western culture. But, of course, you can also choose other names whose meanings have to do with geography, literature, movies, etc.
The most important thing is that that child you choose for your little girl resonates with you like a melody, a sweet song that conveys love, tenderness, and lots of affection!
https://eresmama.com/15-nombres-origen-romano-ninas/
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
- http://etimologias.dechile.net/
- Salazar, S. (2016). El gran libro de los nombres para tu bebé Guía ilustrada de nombres para niño y niña. Barcelona: Planeta.