Marcus (Latin pronunciation:[ˈmaːrkʊs]) is a Latin praenomen, or personal name, which was one of the most common names throughout Roman history. The feminine form is Marca or Marcia. The praenomen was used by both patrician and plebeian families, and gave rise to the patronymic gens Marcia, as well as the cognomen Marcellus. It was regularly abbreviated M.[1][2][3]
At all periods of Roman history, Marcus was the third-most popular praenomen, trailing only Lucius and Gaius. Although many prominent families did not use it, it was a favorite of countless others. The name survived the Roman Empire and has continued to be used, in various forms, into modern times.[1][2]
Origin and meaning of the nameedit
The praenomen Marcus is generally conceded to be derived from the name of the god Mars. It has been proposed that it was originally given to children who were born in the month of Martius (March), which was itself named in honor of the god Mars.[2][4][5]
The feminine form of Marcus should be Marca. However, surviving examples indicate that Marcia, with an "i", was more common. The same was true of the praenomen Tita or Titia.[3]
marcus, praenomen, this, article, about, latin, praenomen, other, uses, marcus, name, marcus, disambiguation, marcus, latin, pronunciation, ˈmaːrkʊs, latin, praenomen, personal, name, which, most, common, names, throughout, roman, history, feminine, form, marc. This article is about the Latin praenomen For other uses see Marcus name and Marcus disambiguation Marcus Latin pronunciation ˈmaːrkʊs is a Latin praenomen or personal name which was one of the most common names throughout Roman history The feminine form is Marca or Marcia The praenomen was used by both patrician and plebeian families and gave rise to the patronymic gens Marcia as well as the cognomen Marcellus It was regularly abbreviated M 1 2 3 At all periods of Roman history Marcus was the third most popular praenomen trailing only Lucius and Gaius Although many prominent families did not use it it was a favorite of countless others The name survived the Roman Empire and has continued to be used in various forms into modern times 1 2 Origin and meaning of the name editThe praenomen Marcus is generally conceded to be derived from the name of the god Mars It has been proposed that it was originally given to children who were born in the month of Martius March which was itself named in honor of the god Mars 2 4 5 The feminine form of Marcus should be Marca However surviving examples indicate that Marcia with an i was more common The same was true of the praenomen Tita or Titia 3 The Etruscan form of this praenomen is Marce 6 See also editRoman naming conventionsReferences edit a b Dictionary of Greek amp Roman Biography amp Mythology a b c Realencyclopadie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft a b Mika Kajava Roman Female Praenomina Studies in the Nomenclature of Roman Women 1994 George Davis Chase The Origin of Roman Praenomina in Harvard Studies in Classical Philology vol VIII 1897 Oxford Classical Dictionary 3rd Ed 1996 Jacques Heurgon Daily Life of the Etruscans 1964 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Marcus praenomen amp oldid 1106377320, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
