Faustus (ˈfaʊstəs, or occasionally ˈfɔːstəs) is a Latin praenomen

Praenomen

The praenomen was a personal name chosen by the parents of a Roman child. It was first bestowed on the dies lustricus , the eighth day after the birth of a girl, or the ninth day after the birth of a boy...

, or personal name

Given name

A given name, in Western contexts often referred to as a first name, is a personal name that specifies and differentiates between members of a group of individuals, especially in a family, all of whose members usually share the same family name...

. It was never particularly common at Rome, but may have been used more frequently in the countryside. The feminine form is Fausta. The name was not usually abbreviated, but is occasionally found abbreviated F. During the period of the Roman Empire

Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....

, it was widely used as a cognomen

Cognomen

The cognomen nōmen "name") was the third name of a citizen of Ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. The cognomen started as a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became hereditary. Hereditary cognomina were used to augment the second name in order to identify a particular branch within...

, or surname

Surname

A surname is a name added to a given name and is part of a personal name. In many cases, a surname is a family name. Many dictionaries define "surname" as a synonym of "family name"...

. As the Roman nomenclature system

Roman naming conventions

By the Republican era and throughout the Imperial era, a name in ancient Rome for a male citizen consisted of three parts : praenomen , nomen and cognomen...

 began to break down towards the end of the Western Empire

Western Roman Empire

The Western Roman Empire was the western half of the Roman Empire after its division by Diocletian in 285; the other half of the Roman Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire, commonly referred to today as the Byzantine Empire....

 in the 4th and 5th centuries, Faustus once again became a personal name, and it has survived into modern times.

The best-known examples of this praenomen are from the family of the dictator Lucius Cornelius Sulla

Lucius Cornelius Sulla

Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix , known commonly as Sulla, was a Roman general and statesman. He had the rare distinction of holding the office of consul twice, as well as that of dictator...

, who in 81 B.C. named his twin children Faustus and Fausta. The name continued to be used regularly by his descendants over the next two centuries. Other gentes from which examples are known include the Antistii

Antistia (gens)

The gens Antistia, sometimes written Antestia, was a plebeian family at Rome. The first of the gens to achieve prominence was Sextus Antistius, tribune of the people in 422 BC.-Praenomina used by the gens:...

, Decimii, Lartii

Lartia (gens)

The gens Lartia, sometimes spelled Larcia or Largia, was a patrician family at Rome, distinguished at the beginning of the Republic through two of its members, Titus Lartius, the first dictator, and Spurius Lartius, the companion of Horatius on the wooden bridge. The name soon after disappears...

, Paccii, Veidii, and Vibii; and perhaps also the Julii, Servii, and Sestii

Sextia (gens)

The gens Sextia was a plebeian family at Rome, from the time of the early Republic and continuing into imperial times. The most famous member of the gens was Lucius Sextius Lateranus, who as tribune of the plebs from 376 to 367 BC, prevented the election of the annual magistrates, until the...

. Varro described this praenomen as obsolete in the 1st century BC, implying that it had once been more common; but it seems that by reviving it in his own family, Sulla may have started a trend which continued for some centuries, and probably also contributed to the popularity of the name as a cognomen.

Origin and Meaning of the Name

The meaning of Faustus is fortunate or lucky, a fact which probably inspired Sulla, who considered himself blessed by fortune. Indeed, this may have been the motivation behind many of the parents who gave this rare praenomen to their children. Another interesting example mentioned in the Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft was of two brothers named Faustus and Fortunatus. However, Fortunatus probably was not a genuine praenomen, but was chosen on that occasion simply because it was a synonym of Faustus.