 The most important of these names was the "nomen gentilicium", or simply "nomen", a hereditary surname that identified a person as a member of a distinct gens.This was preceded by the praenomen, or "forename", a personal name that served to distinguish between the different members of a family.For example, a Roman named "Publius Lemonius" might have sons named "Publius", "Lucius", and "Gaius Lemonius".