* praenomen
* nomen
* cognomen
* honorific
Examples:
Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus Nero
Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus
Gaius Julius Caesar Imperator
Gaius Caesar Augustus (Caligula)
The Praenomen was the person's given name.
The Nomen was the tribal name, hence, Julius Caesar's real first
name was Gaius, and he was of the Julian tribe.
The Cognomen was the family name. Nero's family name was Ahenobarbus
("red beard," or "bronze beard"). He was Lucius,
of the Domitian tribe, of the family Ahenobarbus. His honorific,
Nero, meant "hero" in the Sabine language.
Julius Caesar's fame was so great that his family name became
a tribal name -- his family became a recognized Roman tribe. One
of the later members of his family was Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus,
whose legions pushed the boundaries of the Roman Empire to the
Rhine River in eastern Europe. Germanicus' wife was Aggripina,
for whom the city of Cologne, Germany, was named (in Latin, Colonia
Aggripina).
Germanicus' son was also Gaius Caesar Augustus. As a boy he was
with his parents encamped with the legions in Germany. His father
dressed him in a centurion's uniform with breastplate, shield,
sword, and boots. The soldiers called him "Little Boots",
or in Latin, Caligula.
The apostle Paul's given name was Saul. His tribal name was the
Jewish tribe of Benjamin. His family name was taken from his birthplace,
Tarsus. So when he had to use his full name as a Roman citizen,
it would be Saulus Benjaminus Tarsus.
Some people has Honorifics, or titles, added to their names as
an honor for something they had done.
Scipio won battles in Africa, so he was Publius Cornelius Scipio
Africanus. His nephew was Scipio Asiaticus.
Julius Caesar was the winner of the highest military honor of
the Roman Empire during the Republic, that of Imperator. The person
so honored was called Imperator. This is the origin of the word
"emperor". Thus, he was Gaius Julius Caesar Imperator.
Saul's honorific was "Paul", given to him by a Roman
official. So Paul's full name was Saulus Benjaminus Tarsus Paulus.