Daily Ancestorcognomen
Cognomen is Latin for a surname or family name; in Roman names it was the third part, and it can also mean a nickname.
In registers cognomen means surname, as the BYU glossary gives it. In Roman names it was the third part of a formal name, and it could also be a nickname.
Nomen is the general word for a name, so a record may give nomen for the given name and cognomen for the family name. Cognomine with a name means by surname.
As seen in a recordLatin tabular baptism register, Austria, 1830s
Nomen: Joannes; cognomen: Wendlhuber
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "cognomen." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/latin/cognomen. Last checked 2026-10-12.