Note 347 — LXXVII (A III, 20)

Cicero gives Atticus his full name, rather playfully, as it was a new acquisition. His uncle, Q. Cæcilius, dying this year, left him heir to a large fortune, and adopted him in his will (Nep. Att. 5). He therefore, according to custom, took his uncle's prænomen and nomen, Q. Cæcilius, retaining his own nomen in an adjectival form (Pomponianus) as a cognomen, just as C. Octavius became, by his uncle's will, C. Iulius Cæsar Octavianus. His additional name of Atticus remained as before, and in ordinary life was his usual designation. See p. 15.