Augustus - Name

Name

Throughout his life, the man historians refer to as Augustus ( /ɔːˈɡʌstəs/; ) was known by many names:

• At birth he was named Gaius Octavius after his biological father. Historians typically refer to him as simply Octavius between his birth in 63 until his posthumous adoption by Julius Caesar in 44 BC.
• Upon his adoption by Caesar, he took Caesar's name and become Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus in accordance with Roman adoption naming standards. Though he quickly dropped "Octavianus" from his name and his contemporaries referred to him as "Caesar" during this period, historians refer to him as Octavian between 44 BC and 27 BC.
• As part of his actions to strengthen his political ties to Caesar's former soldiers, in 42 BC, following the deification of Caesar, Octavian added Divi Filius (Son of the Divine) to his name, becoming Gaius Julius Caesar Divi Filius.
• In 38 BC, Octavian replaced his praenomen "Gaius" and nomen "Julius" with Imperator, the title by which troops hailed their leader after military success, officially becoming Imperator Caesar Divi Filius
• In 27 BC, following his defeat of Mark Antony and Cleopatra, the Roman Senate voted him new titles, officially becoming Imperator Caesar Divi Filius Augustus. It is the events of 27 BC from which he obtained his traditional name of Augustus, which historians use in reference from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.