LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · neuterthird declension

cognōmen

cognōmen n (genitive cognōminis)
Classical[kɔŋˈnoː.mɛn]Ecclesiastical[koɲˈɲɔː.men]
Mille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. surname
  2. third part of a formal name
  3. an additional name derived from some characteristic; a nickname, moniker
    Est locus, Hesperiam Grāī cognōmine dīcunt, [...].“There is a place, the Greeks call [it] by the name Hesperia [i.e., Italy], ….”29 BCE – 19 BCE, Vergilius, Aeneis 1.530

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

tertium nōmen Rōmānī; etiam nōmen quod ex factīs datur.
cognōmen -inis n — in Mille Verba, Schola

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativecognōmencognōmina
genitivecognōminiscognōminum
dativecognōminīcognōminibus
accusativecognōmencognōmina
ablativecognōminecognōminibus
vocativecognōmencognōmina

cognōmen, ĭnis, n. co-nomen.
I. A name added to the nomen (or name of the gens), usu. the third word in order in the full name of each citizen; sometimes followed by a fourth, the agnomen, but in the class. per. including the agnomen, a Roman surname, family name, epithet (e. g. Cicero, Scipio, etc., Africanus, Asiaticus, etc.; cf. Quint. 7, 3, 27; freq. and class.): T. Manlius, qui Galli torque detracto cognomen (sc. Torquati) invenit, Cic. Off. 3, 31, 112; cf. id. Fin. 1, 7, 23: duo isti T. Roscii, quorum alteri Capitoni cognomen est, id. Rosc. Am. 6, 17; so with dat., Liv. 2, 33, 5; 32, 2, 7; Suet. Caes. 59; id. Aug. 7; id. Vit. 18; id. Claud. 26; Hor. S. 1, 3, 58; cf. Plaut. Pers. 1, 2, 8: sapientis habere, Cic. Lael. 2, 6: Augusti, Suet. Aug. 7: Arabiae felicis dare, Plin. 12, 13, 30, § 51: Felicem addere, id. 22, 6, 6, § 12: P. Crassus cum cognomine Dives, Cic. Off. 2, 16, 57: cognomen ex contumeliā traxerit, id. Phil. 3, 6, 16; so, ex vero dictum cognomen, Hor. S. 2, 2, 56: imponere alicui, id. ib. 2, 3, 26: Aristides... cognomine Justus sit appellatus, Nep. Arist. 1, 2: sumere ex aliquā re, Cic. Phil. 6, 4, 11: uti, id Clu. 26, 72.—
II. Meton., poet., or in post. Aug. prose sometimes, in gen. for nomen, a name: cognomina prisca locorum, Prop. 4 (5), 1, 69. so Verg. A. 1, 530; 3, 133; 3, 163; 3, 334; 3, 350; 8, 48; 8, 331 al.; Claud. B. Get. 555; Gell. 10, 12, 6.

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ḱe?
  2. Proto-Indo-European*ḱóm
  3. Proto-Italic*kom
  4. Proto-Italic*kom-
  5. Latincognōmen

Proto-Indo-European *h₁nómn̥ Proto-Italic *nōmn̥ Latin nōmen Latin cognomen From con- (“together, with”) + nōmen (“name”). The g is from false association, or analogy, with cognōscō (“recognize”)

Elsewhere
  • Catalancognom
  • Englishcognomen
  • Frenchcognomen
  • Spanishcognombre
  • Italiancognome
  • Frenchcognomfrom Middle French cognom
  • Portuguesecognome
  • Romaniancognomen
  • Spanishcognome
  • Cimbriankonjåmfrom Italian cognome
Inherited
  • Spanishcolombroño

Quick answers

What does cognōmen mean in Latin?
cognōmen, a noun, means “surname; third part of a formal name; an additional name derived from some characteristic”.
What is the genitive of cognōmen?
The genitive singular is cognōminis. cognōmen is neuter, third declension.
How do you pronounce cognōmen?
In classical Latin, [kɔŋˈnoː.mɛn]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [koɲˈɲɔː.men].
Where does cognōmen come from?
Proto-Indo-European *ḱe? → Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm → Proto-Italic *kom → Proto-Italic *kom- → Latin cognōmen.