I am working on a historical fiction novel and would like to know exactly how to name a female character.
What is the correct procedure for naming the female daughter of an emperor? Is it Julia daughter of..., etc?
This may help:
Julia Caesaris (Classical Latin: IVLIA鈥AESARIS) is the name of all women in the Julii Caesares patrician family (a subdivision of the Julii family), since feminine names were their father's gens and cognomen declined in the female form. (Male members of the Julii Caesares include Julius Caesar and Caesar Augustus.) Several Juliae Caesares are cited by the ancient sources, notably the following:"
"Women's Names
Women's names were less structured than men's. Roman women must originally have used pr忙nomina, but by the time of the early Republic, most women were known only by the feminine form of their family's nomen. For example, the daughter of Gaius Julius C忙sar was simply Julia.
Sisters, therefore, would all have had the same name. To distinguish themselves, they used agnomina such as Maior (the Elder), Minor (the Younger), Maxima (the Greater), Minima (the Lesser), Prima (the First), and Secunda (the Second). Another strategy was to use a pet form of the nomen, such as Ambrosilla or Ambrosina for a women whose nomen was Ambrosia.
A married women added the genitive form of her husband's name. For example, when Julia married Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, she became Julia Pompeii.
During the late Republic, women began to also use the feminine form of their family's cognomen. For example, the daughter of Lucius Caecilius Metellus was Caecilia Metella. In many cases, women used a diminutive form of the cognomen. For example, the daughter of Valerius Messalla was Valeria Messalina, and the daughter of Marcus Livius Drusus Claudianus was Livia Drusilla.
Later, under the Empire, women again used pr忙nomina, but these were never as conventional or restricted as the pr忙nomina used by men."
Reply:female daughter? could it be male daughter? but yes, Julia daughter of ... (name of an emperor), right.
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