Because there was a limited number of praenomina, or first names, often the first name appears only as an abbreviation in literary works and in inscriptions The abbreviations, with the corresponding names, are as follows

Some of the names, such as Quintus, Sextus, and Decimus, come from numbers (for example, fifth, sixth, and tenth) Spunus was a name often given to sons who were born after their father's death or whose paternity might have been in question (Or they were given the cognomen Postumus, "after burial ") Other abbreviations one might see in inscriptions are

f or F—filius or filia (son or...