Claudia (gens) - Branches and Cognomina of The Gens

Branches and Cognomina of The Gens

The patrician Claudii bore various surnames, including Caecus, Caudex, Centho, Crassus, Nero, Pulcher, Regillensis, and Sabinus. The latter two, though applicable to all of the gens, were seldom used when there was a more definite cognomen. A few of the patrician Claudii are mentioned without any surname. The surnames of the plebeian Claudii were Asellus, Canina, Centumalus, Cicero, Flamen, and Marcellus.

The earliest Claudii bore the surname Sabinus, a common surname usually referring to a Sabine, or someone of Sabine descent, which according to all tradition, the Claudii were. This cognomen was first adopted by Appius Claudius, the founder of the gens, and was retained by his descendants, until it was replaced by Crassus.

The surname Regillensis or Inregillensis, also attributed to the first of the Claudii, is more problematic. Regillensis was also a cognomen of the Postumia gens, presumably because Aulus Postumius Albus led the victorious Roman army at the Battle of Lake Regillus in 498 BC. It is entirely possible that Appius Claudius was also a participant in that battle, and assumed the same surname in consequence of this, although he is not mentioned in any surviving accounts of that battle.

Niebuhr has suggested that Regillensis is derived not from Postumius' participation in the battle, but from a place of residence, perhaps a settlement, now lost, in the vicinity of Lake Regillus. This theory is supported by Suetonius, who writes that Claudius came ex Regillis oppido Sabinorum; that is, "from Regillum, a town of the Sabines." This appears to conflict with the tradition that Claudius was a native of Cures, and may simply be speculation on the part of Suetonius, but there is nothing inherently improbable about this theory.

Crassus, sometimes given as the diminutive Crassinus, was a common surname usually translated as "thick, solid," or "dull". This cognomen succeeded that of Sabinus as the surname of the main family of the Claudia gens. It was borne by members of the family from the 5th to the 3rd century BC The other main families of the patrician Claudii were descended from Appius Claudius Caecus, a member of this stirps; his sons bore the surnames Crassus, Pulcher, Cento or Centho, and Nero. However, this generation saw the last of the Claudii Crassi.

Pulcher, the surname of the next major branch of the Claudia gens, means beautiful, although it may be that the cognomen was given ironically. The Claudii Pulchri were an extensive family, which supplied the Republic with several consuls, and survived into imperial times.

The other main branch of the patrician Claudii bore the surname Nero, originally a Sabine praenomen described as meaning, fortis ac strenuus, which roughly translated is "strong and sturdy." It may be the same as the Umbrian praenomen Nerius. This family was distinguished throughout the latter Republic, and gave rise to several of the early emperors, including Tiberius, Claudius, and Nero (by adoption). An oddity of the names by which these emperors are known today is that several of their ancestors bore the name Tiberius Claudius Nero; of three emperors belonging to the same family, one is known by a praenomen, one by a nomen, and one by a cognomen.

The most illustrious family of the plebeian Claudii bore the surname Marcellus, which is a diminutive of the praenomen Marcus. They gained everlasting fame from the exploits of Marcus Claudius Marcellus, one of Rome's finest generals, and a towering figure of the Second Punic War, who was five times consul, and won the spolia opima, defeating and killing the Gallic king, Viridomarus, in single combat.

Most of those who used the spelling Clodius were descended from plebeian members of the gens, but one family by this name was a cadet branch of the patrician Claudii Pulchri, which voluntarily went over to the plebeians, and used the spelling Clodius to differentiate themselves from their patrician relatives.

Caecus, the surname of one of the Claudii Crassi, refers to the condition of his blindness, which is well-attested, although it appears that he did not become blind until his old age. According to one legend, he was struck blind by the gods during his censorship, after inducing the ancient family of the Potitii to teach the sacred rites of Hercules to the public slaves. The Potitii themselves were said to have perished as a result of this sacrilege. However, it should be noted that Claudius was relatively young at the time of his censorship in 312 BC, and was elected consul sixteen years later, in 296.

Caecus' brother, who shared the same praenomen, was distinguished by the cognomen Caudex, literally meaning a "treetrunk", although metaphorically it was an insult, meaning a "dolt." According to Seneca, he obtained the surname from his attention to naval affairs.