Agnomen

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Under some circumstances Romans were given an additional cognomen, called an agnomen. These were the exception to the general rule that cognomina were not complimentary.

Honorific Agnomina

Sometimes very eminent Romans were given honorific cognomina in recognition of their great achievements. These were the exception to the general rule that cognomina were not complimentary. Such honorific cognomina are called agnomina.

An agnomen may refer to a victory over a particular enemy people (e.g. Britannicus, "victor over the Britons") or in a particular place (e.g. Africanus, "victor in Africa"). An agnomen might also refer to a particular virtue (e.g. Pius, "dutiful"; Sapiens, "prudent"), or to general preeminence (e.g. Magnus, "great"; Maximus, "very great").

Obviously a person cannot give himself an agnomen: it is always given by others.

Adoptive Agnomina

In the case of adoption, the original nomen of an adoptive child was used in adjectival form as an agnomen. As an example, when P. Aemelius L. f. Paulus was adopted by P. Cornelius Scipio Africanus he used the name P. Cornelius P. f. Scipio Aemelianus. "Aemelianus" is the adjective form of "Aemelius".

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