Ancient Rome
In Rome, slaves often had a single name given at the discretion of their owner. A slave who was manumitted (freed) might keep his or her slave name and adopt his or her former owner's name as a praenomen and nomen. As an example, one historian says that "a man named Publius Larcius freed a male slave named Nicia, who was then called Publius Larcius Nicia."
Historian Harold Whetstone Johnston writes of instances in which a slave's former owner chose to ignore custom and simply chose a name for the freedman.
Read more about this topic: Slave Name
Famous quotes containing the words ancient and/or rome:
“With the ancient is wisdom; and in length of days understanding.”
—Bible: Hebrew Job, 12:12.
“History is not a book, arbitrarily divided into chapters, or a drama chopped into separate acts: it has flowed forward. Rome is a continuity, called “eternal.” What has accumulated in this place acts on everyone, day and night, like an extra climate.”
—Elizabeth Bowen (1899–1973)