Praenomen

The praenomen (Classical Latin: [ˈprae̯:.noː.mɛn]; plural: praenomina) was a personal name chosen by the parents of a Roman child. It was first bestowed on the dies lustricus (day of lustration), the eighth day after the birth of a girl, or the ninth day after the birth of a boy. The praenomen would then be formally conferred a second time when girls married, or when boys assumed the toga virilis upon reaching manhood. Although it was the oldest of the tria nomina commonly used in Roman naming conventions, by the late republic, most praenomina were so common that most people were called by their praenomina only by family or close friends. For this reason, although they continued to be used, praenomina gradually disappeared from public records during imperial times. Although both men and women received praenomina, women's praenomina were frequently ignored, and they were gradually abandoned by many Roman families, though they continued to be used in some families and in the countryside.

Prenomen (Ancient Egypt)

The Prenomen (alternatively written praenomen) of Ancient Egyptian pharaohs was one of the "Great five names" of Egyptian rulers. Other terms for this "Great name" are Nswt-bity name and Throne name.

It is thought by some Egyptologists and Historians to be the birth name of the rulers, although they are not known to have used it in public inscriptions. Other Egyptologists believe that the prenomen was an independent name exclusively invented for the nswt-bity crest.

Heraldic appearance

The Prenomen is composed of four hieroglyphic signs arranged into two fixed groups: the first sign group comprises the picture of a four-leafed sedge over a bread loaf. It was read in Egyptian as Niswt and symbolised Upper Egypt. The second group is written with the sign for a honey bee over a bread loaf. It was read as Bity and symbolised Lower Egypt. The etymology and origin of each crest reading is still unknown.

During the first three Dynasties, the prenomen was depicted either sole or in pair with the Nebty name, as the case of king Semerkhet shows. He was the first king who devoted his prenomen to the Two Ladies that clearly, although not every king after him followed that custom. From king Huni, the probably last king of third dynasty, onward, the prenomen was encircled by the so-called cartouche, the elongated form of the Shen ring ("ring of eternity").