juvenescent theophoric name of Iovis, which used to be one of the older names of the god Iuppiter. Weinstock (1971) made a case for Iullus being a diminutive, i.e. By tracing their descent from Aeneas, the Iulii belonged to the so-called " Trojan" families of Rome. Such nicknames were typical for cognomina and were the base of old gentilician names. Virgil and his commentator Servius wrote that the gens Iulia had received their name Iulius from the family's common ancestor, Aeneas' son Ascanius, who was also known under his cognomen Iulus, which is a derivative of iulus, meaning "wooly worm". But no supporting evidence has been found to this day. Some have linked the name to an unknown Etruscan phrase, others to the gentilician name Gavius, which possibly might have lost the medial v in the course of time. This etymology is commonly seen as incorrect, and the origin of Gaius is often stated as still unknown. The only known original Roman etymology of Gaius is expressed as a gaudio parentum, meaning that the name Gaius stems from the Latin verb gaudere ("to rejoice", "to be glad"). The old spelling remained valid in later times and existed alongside Gaius, especially in the form of the abbreviation C. before the censorship of Appius Claudius Caecus in 312 BC, the name was only written as Caius. Before the introduction of the letter 'G' into the Latin alphabet, i.e. Gaius is an archaic Latin name and one of the earliest Roman praenomina. Suetonius also speaks of the additional cognomen Pater Patriae, which would render Caesar's complete name as Imperator Gaius Iulius Caesar Pater Patriae Divus.
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