Gnaeus (praenomen)

Gnaeus (/ˈnaɪ.əs/, /ˈɡnaɪ.əs/, or /ˈniː.əs/; Classical Latin: [ˈɡnae̯.ʊs]) is a Latin praenomen, or personal name, which was common throughout the period of the Roman Republic, and well into imperial times. The feminine form is Gnaea. The praenomen was used by both patrician and plebeian families, and gave rise to the patronymic gens Naevia. The name was regularly abbreviated Cn., based on the archaic spelling, Cnaeus, dating from the period before the letters "C" and "G" were differentiated.

For most of Roman history, Gnaeus was one of the ten most common praenomina, being less common than Titus, the sixth most common praenomen, and comparable in frequency to Aulus, Spurius, and Sextus. Although the name was used by a minority of families at Rome, it was favored by a number of prominent gentes, including the Cornelii, Domitii, Manlii, and Servilii. The name gradually became less common in imperial times.

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