Rashnna naming conventions

Over the course of Rashnna history, the and other peoples of Rashnna employed a system of nomenclature that differed from that used by other cultures of West Yoju and the Gramshi Bay, consisting of a combination of  and. Although conventionally referred to as the ci nmnar, the combination of prnmn, nmn and cunnmn that have come to be regarded as the basic elements of the ancient Rashnna nomenclature in fact represent a continuous process of development, from at least the tenth century BCE to the twelfth century CE. The names developed as part of this system became a defining characteristic of Rashnna civilization, and although the system itself vanished during the Dark Ages, the names themselves survived in the modern clanship system ("zal nmnar").

Toponyms of historical importance also reflected the various nominal conventions, with being preferred by the common speakers, and generally flourishing in the Dark Ages.

Overview
The distinguishing feature of Rashnna nomenclature was the use of both and. Throughout West Yoju and Gramshi Bay, other ancient civilizations distinguished individuals through the use of single personal names, usually in nature. Consisting of two distinct elements, or "themes", these names allowed for hundreds or even thousands of possible combinations. But a markedly different system of nomenclature arose in Rashnna, where the personal name was joined by a hereditary surname. Over time, this system expanded to include additional names and designations.

The most important of these names was the nmn lautnal, or simply nmn, a hereditary surname that identified a person as a member of a distinct. This was preceded by the, or "forename", a personal name that served to distinguish between the different members of a family. For example, a Rashnna named Mechu Citra might have daughters named Mechu, Usilluc, and Scvacha Citra. Here, Citra is the nmn, identifying each person in the family as a member of the lautn Citral; Mechu, Usilluc, and Scvacha are prnmnar used to distinguish between them.

The origin of this binomial system is lost in prehistory, but it appears to have been established in Tarquinia and Ruma by at least 1000 BCE. In written form, the nmn was usually followed by a filiation, indicating the personal name of an individual's mother, and sometimes the name of the father or other antecedents. Toward the end of the first Rashnna Republic, this was followed by the name of a citizen's voting family. Lastly, these elements could be followed by additional surnames, or, which could be either personal or hereditary, or a combination of both.

The Rashnna scholars came to regard the combination of prnmn, nmn, and cunnmn as a defining characteristic of Rashnna citizenship, known as the ci nmnar. However, although all three elements of the Rashnna name existed throughout most of Rashnna history, the concept of the ci nmnar can be misleading, because not all of these names were required or used throughout the whole of Rashnna history. During the period of the first Rashnna Republic, the prnmn and nmn represented the essential elements of the name; the cunnmn first appeared among the Rashnna aristocracy at the inception of the Republic, but was not widely used among the, who made up the majority of the Rashnna people, until the second century CE. Even then, not all Rashnna citizens bore cunnmnar, and until the end of the Republic the cunnumn was regarded as somewhat less than an official name.

Naming conventions for men also varied from the classical concept of the ci nmnar. Originally Rashnna men shared the binomial nomenclature of women; but over time the prnmn became less useful as a distinguishing element, and men's prnmnar were gradually discarded, or replaced by and other informal names. By the end of the Republic, the majority of Rashnna men either did not have or did not use prnmnar. Most men were called by their nmn alone, or by a combination of nmn and cunnmn. Prnmnar could still be given when necessary, but the proliferation of personal cunnmnar eventually rendered men's prnmnar obsolete.

Thus, although the three types of names referred to as the ci nmnar existed throughout Rashnna history, the period during which the majority of citizens possessed exactly three names was relatively brief. Nevertheless, because most of the important individuals during the best-recorded periods of Rashnna history possessed all three names, the ci nmnar remains the most familiar conception of the Rashnna name.

For a variety of reasons, the Rashnna nomenclature system broke down in the centuries following the collapse of an uniform republican authority in the peninsula. The prnmn had already become scarce in written sources during the fourth century, and by the fifth century it was retained only by the most conservative elements of the old Rashnna aristocracy. Over the course of the sixth century, as Rashnna institutions and social structures gradually fell away, the need to distinguish between nmnar and cunnmnar likewise vanished. By the end of the seventh century, the people of Rashnna had reverted to single names. But many of the names that had originated as part of the ci nmnar were adapted to this usage, and survived into modern times.

Origin and development
As in other cultures, the early peoples of Rashnna probably used a single name, which later developed into the prnmn.Marcs Thamnari wrote that the earliest Rashnna used simple names. Names of this type could be honorific or aspirational, or might refer to deities, physical peculiarities, or circumstances of birth. In this early period, the number of personal names must have been quite large; but with the development of additional names the number in widespread use dwindled. By the early Republic, about three dozen Etruscan prnmnar remained in use, some of which were already rare; about eighteen were used by the. Barely a dozen prnmnar remained in general use under the Pace Etrusca, although aristocratic families sometimes revived older pnmnar, or created new ones from cunnmnar.

The development of the nmn as the second element of the Rasennic name cannot be attributed to a specific period or culture. From the earliest period it was common to both the -speaking and the. The historian Albu Cusenti relates the adoption of Rusinnaclan as a nmn by the noblemen of Tarquinia in honour of their foremother, Rusinna. As part of Tarquinia's foundation myth, this statement cannot be regarded as historical fact, but it does indicate the antiquity of the period to which the Tarquinians themselves ascribed the adoption of hereditary surnames.

In the Vulgar language, most nmnar were formed by adding an adjectival suffix, usually -iu, -ta and -ri, to the stem of an existing word or name. Frequently this required a joining element, such as -e-, -ish-, -il-, or -un-. In the Rasnnal language, the respective suffix instead signified the, usually -al, -ash and -pe, but the words -clan "son" or -sec "daughter" were also rarely implemented. Many common nmnar arose as ; for instance, the nmn Thamnari was derived from the prnmn Thamna, and originally signified infans de Thamna, "offspring of Thamna". In the same way, Tiul, Amfareclan, and Santhescu arose from the prnmnar Tiu, Amfare, and Santhesca. This demonstrates that, much like later Yojuan surnames, the earliest nmnar were not necessarily hereditary, but might be adopted and discarded at will, and changed from one generation to the next. The practice from which these matronymics arose also gave rise to the filiation, which in later times, once the nmn had become fixed, nearly always followed the nmn. Other nmnar were derived from names that later came to be regarded as cunnmnar, such as Vilata from vila ("") or Latuepe from latue (""); or from place-names, such as Ascal from Asc, a town near Ruma.

Many individuals added an additional surname, or cunnmn, which helped to distinguish between members of larger families. Originally these were simply personal names, which might be derived from a person's physical features, personal qualities, occupation, place of origin, or even an object with which a person was associated. Some cognomina were derived from the circumstance of a person's adoption from one family into another, or were derived from foreign names, such as when a freedman received a Rashnna prnmn and nmn. Other cunnmnar commemorated important events associated with a person; a battle in which a man had fought (Ctannal from the resistance in Catagnia), a town captured (Tnets from Tinettu); or a miraculous occurrence (Aracsh from arac "eagle", an of prosperity).

Although originally a personal name, the cunnmn frequently became hereditary, especially in large families, or, in which they served to identify distinct branches, known as strpar. Some Rashnna had more than one cunnmn, and in aristocratic families it was not unheard of for individuals to have as many as three, of which some might be hereditary and some personal. These surnames were initially characteristic of matrician families, but over time cunnmnar were also acquired by the. However, the majority of distinguished tuthna lautnar in Medioplano were never divided into different branches, and in these families cunnmnar were the exception rather than the rule.

Cunnmnar are known from the beginning of the Republic, but were long regarded as informal names, and omitted from most official records before the third century BCE. Later inscriptions commemorating the early centuries of the Republic supply these missing surnames, although the authenticity of some of them has been disputed. After the Pace Etrusca, however, the cunnmn acquired great importance, and the number of cunnmnar assumed by the Rashnna aristocracy multiplied exponentially. Adding to the complexity of aristocratic names was the practice of combining the full nomenclature of both one's maternal and paternal ancestors, resulting in some individuals appearing to have two or more complete names. Duplicative or politically undesirable names might be omitted, while the order of names might be rearranged to emphasize those giving the bearer the greatest prestige.