AGNOMEN, in Roman Antiquity, a kind of fourth or honorary name, given to a person on account of some extraordinary action, virtue, or accomplishment. Thus the agnomen Africanus was bestowed upon Publius Cornelius Scipio on account of his great achievements in Africa. The order in which the names of a Roman citizen followed each other was thus: 1. Prænomen, denoting the individual; 2. Nomen gentilitium, indicating the gens to which he belonged; 3. Cognomen, which every citizen had or might have, marked his familia; 4. Agnomen, given as a mark of distinction, usually honorary, but sometimes the reverse.