Editing Roman naming conventions (section)

===Cognomen replaces praenomen===
The praenomen, even under the classic system, had never been particularly distinctive because of the limited number of praenomina available.<ref name=Flower>{{cite book|title=The Cambridge Companion to the Roman Republic|editor-last=Flower|editor-first=Harriet |isbn=978-0-521-00390-2|page=[https://archive.org/details/cambridgecompani0000unse_s0h2/page/119 119]|date=2004-01-19|publisher=Cambridge University Press |url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/cambridgecompani0000unse_s0h2/page/119}}</ref> Between the late Republic and the second century AD, the praenomen gradually became less used and eventually disappeared altogether.<ref name=Salway131/> Even among the senatorial aristocracy it became a rarity by about 300 AD.<ref name=Salway131/> In part this came about through a tendency for the same praenomen to be given to all males of a family, thereby fossilizing a particular praenomen/nomen combination and making the praenomen even less distinctive e.g. all males in the emperor [[Vespasian]]'s family (including all his sons) had the praenomen/nomen combination Titus Flavius:<ref name=Salway130>Salway, p.130</ref>
{{Tree chart/start|align=center|summary=An example family tree}}
{{Tree chart| | | | |FP|FP=[[Titus Flavius Petro]]}}
{{Tree chart| | | | | |!}}
{{Tree chart| | | | |FS|y|VP||FS=[[Titus Flavius Sabinus (father of Vespasian)|Titus Flavius Sabinus]]|VP=[[Vespasia Polla]]}}
{{Tree chart| | | |,|-|-|-|^|-|-|-|.}}
{{Tree chart| | |FS| | | | | |FV|y|FD|FS=[[Titus Flavius Sabinus (consul AD 47)|Titus Flavius Sabinus]]|FV=[[Vespasian|Titus Flavius Vespasianus]]<br>emperor '''Vespasian'''|FD=[[Domitilla the Elder|Flavia Domitilla]]}}
{{Tree chart| |,|-|^|-|.| | | |,|-|-|-|(}}
{{Tree chart|FS| |FC| |TF| |FD|FS=[[Titus Flavius Sabinus (consul AD 82)|Titus Flavius Sabinus]]|FC=[[Titus Flavius Clemens (consul)|Titus Flavius Clemens]]|TF=[[Titus|Titus Flavius Vespasianus]]<br>emperor '''Titus'''|FD={{nowrap|[[Domitian|Titus Flavius Domitianus]]}}<br>emperor '''Domitian'''}}
{{Tree chart/end}}
The cognomen, as in Vespasian's family, then assumed the distinguishing function for individuals; where this happened, the cognomen replaced the praenomen in intimate address.<ref name=Salway130/> The result was that two names remained in use for formal public address but instead of praenomen + nomen, it became nomen + cognomen.<ref name=Salway130/>