Hey Jay:

Caleb Bushyhead has a noble predecessor: “Caesar” means “bushy-haired,” if I remember correctly.

The Latin cognomen – the third of the standard three names a Roman gentleman had (Julius Caesar’s first name was Gaius) — is an amusing study. The great poet Horace had a cognomen meaning “Flabby” (Flaccus). The seventh of Suetonius’ twelve emperors had the cognomen “Pot-Bellied” (Galba, though Suetonius offers some kinder possibilities, too).

In his chapter on names in Romans and Aliens, J.P.V.D. Balsdon notes the following cognomina: Lofty (Maximus), Baldy (Glabrio), Warty (Verrucosus), Slowcoach (Cunctator), Wise-Guy (Corculum), and Glutton (Gurges). Colleen McCullough, in one of those splendid appendices to her Roman novels, explores the further shores, offering Never-Smiles (Agelastus), Buck-Toothed (Brocchus), Knock-Kneed (Vatia), and An-Arsehole-and-a-Half (Sesquiculus).

Balsdon notes sadly, though, that “with the precedent of the Hellenistic kings, flattering third names appeared in due course”: Felix the fortunate, Magnus the great, and of course Augustus the majestic. There’s a sort of entropy in human affairs: Things start out fun then trend to boring. Or is that just me succumbing to the Pathetic Fallacy?