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:''This page is {{about |the Latin praenomen. For |a list of persons with this name, see [[Mamercus|Mamercus (disambiguation)]].''}}
'''Mamercus''' (pronounced {{IPA-en|məˈmɛərkəsla|maˈmɛrkʊs}}), feminine '''Mamerca''', is a Latin ''[[praenomen]]'', or [[given name|personal name]], which was used in pre-Roman times and throughout the [[Roman Republic]], becomingfalling disusedout of usage in imperial times. The feminine form is ''Mamerca''. The patronymic ''gens Mamercia'' was derived from this name, as were the ''[[cognomen|cognomina]]'' ''Mamercus'' and ''Mamercinus''. The name was usually abbreviated '''Mam.'''<ref>''Dictionary of Greek & Roman Biography & Mythology''</ref><ref>''Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft''</ref>
The praenomen Mamercus is best known from ''[[Aemilia gens|gens Aemilia]]'', one of the greatest of the patrician houses at Rome, which claimed descent from Mamercus, said to have been a son of [[Numa Pompilius]], the second king of Rome. Several prominent members of this family bore the name during the Roman Republic. The [[Pinaria gens|Pinarii]], another patrician family, is also said to have used the praenomen Mamercus, although no examples from this ''gens'' have been preserved. According to one tradition, the Pinarii were descended from another son of Numa Pompilius, although in his history of Rome, [[Livy|Titus Livius]] records that the ''gens'' was still more ancient, and predated the founding of the city.<ref>''Dictionary of Greek & Roman Biography & Mythology''</ref><ref>[[Livy|Titus Livius]], ''[[Ab Urbe Condita (book)|Ab Urbe Condita]]'', book I</ref>
Both the Aemilii and the Pinarii used Mamercus and Mamercinus as cognomina. Other families which used these names as cognomina may have used the praenomen Mamercus at one time.<ref>''Dictionary of Greek & Roman Biography & Mythology''</ref>
==Origin and Meaningmeaning of the Namename==
According to Festus, the praenomen Mamercus was derived from the name of the god ''Mamers'', who was worshipped throughout Italy in pre-Roman times, and was particularly associated with the Oscans. Since classical times, scholars have postulated that Mamers was the Oscan form of [[Mars (mythology)|Mars]], although the names ''Marcus'' and ''Mamercus'' frequently existed side-by-side. Whatever the case, Mamercus is generally believed to have been an Oscan praenomen that was brought to Rome during the reign of Numa Pompilius, if not earlier.<ref>Sextus Pompeius Festus, epitome by [[Paul the Deacon|Paulus Diaconus]]</ref><ref>George Davis Chase, "The Origin of Roman Praenomina", in ''Harvard Studies in Classical Philology'', vol. VIII (1897)</ref>
Although Mamercus was never widely used at Rome, it came to be regarded as a Latin praenomen. It was always included in lists of personal names, and even received its own regular abbreviation.<ref>William Smith, ''A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities''</ref>
The Etruscan form of the name, borrowed from either Latin or Oscan, is ''Mamarce''.<ref>[[Jacques Heurgon]], ''Daily Life of the Etruscans'' (1964)</ref><ref>''Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft''</ref>
==See alsoReferences ==
[[Praenomen]]
==Notes==
{{reflist}}
{{Praenomina}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mamercus (Praenomen)}}
[[Category:Ancient Roman praenomina]]
[[Category:Theophoric names]]
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