Cornelia (gens)

The gens Cornelia was one of the most distinguished Roman gentes, and produced a greater number of illustrious men than any other house at Rome. The first of this gens to achieve the consulship was Servius Cornelius Cossus Maluginensis, who held that office in 485 BC.

The gens was a major contributor to the highest offices of the Republic, and contested for consulships with the Fabii and the Valerii from the third century BC. Over thirty percent of all consulships were held by men from this gens; several great commanders also came from this family.

The origin of the Cornelii is lost to history, but the nomen Cornelius may be formed from the hypothetical cognomen Corneus, meaning "horny", that is, having thick or callused skin. The existence of such a cognomen in early times may be inferred from its diminutive, Corneolus.

Another possibility is that the name is related to the surname Cossus, used by the most ancient branch of the gens. Cossus may be an archaic praenomen used by the ancestors of the Cornelii, which was subsequently used as a cognomen by the family. A similar instance is found in the patrician Furia gens, originally Fusia, which was evidently derived from the archaic praenomen Fusus. That gens later used Fusus as a cognomen, just as the Cornelii did with Cossus. Long after that branch of the family had disappeared, Cossus was revived as a praenomen by the later Cornelii.

The Cornelii employed a wide variety of praenomina, although individual families tended to favor certain names and avoid others. Servius (abbreviated Ser.), Lucius (L.), Publius (P.), Gnaeus (Cn.), and Marcus (M.) were common to most branches. Aulus (A.) was used by the Cornelii Cossi. Gaius (C.) was used by both the Cornelii Cethegi and Lentuli. The praenomen Tiberius (Ti.) also appears once amongst the Lentuli, who later revived the former cognomen Cossus as a praenomen.

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