Gaius Iulius Caesar (name) - The praenomen Gaius

The praenomen Gaius

Gaius is an archaic Latin name and one of the earliest Roman praenomina. Before the introduction of the letter 'G' into the Latin alphabet, i.e. before the censorship of Appius Claudius Caecus in 312 BC, the name was only written as Caius. The old spelling remained valid in later times and existed alongside Gaius, especially in the form of the abbreviation C.

The only known original Roman etymology of Gaius is expressed as a gaudio parentum, meaning that the name Gaius stems from the Latin verb gaudere ("to rejoice", "to be glad"). This etymology is commonly seen as incorrect, and the origin of Gaius is often stated as still unknown. Some have linked the name to an unknown Etruscan phrase, others to the gentilician name Gavius, which possibly might have lost the medial v in the course of time. But no supporting evidence has been found to this day.

The most promising explanation can however be found in the folk-etymological derivation from the Greek word γαῖα (gaîa, "earth"), specifically γῆ ("gê") or γᾶ ("gâ"), which is supported by the Roman vow of marriage that the fiancée had to give: Ubi tu Caius et ego Caia. ("Where you, Gaius, likewise I, Gaia.") By the inclusion of Gaius and Gaia in the vow, the two names could of course be identified simply as "man" and "woman". But since the vow was originally an archaic rural ceremony, the vernacular explanation by the Romans, who had always been farmers, will have been "woman of the Earth" and "man of the Earth", referring also to the agricultural property of the family.