[praenomen] Publius s is a Latin praenomen, or personal name. It was used by both patrician and plebeian families, and was very common at all periods of Roman history. It gave rise to the patronymic gens Publilia, and perhaps also gens Publicia. The feminine form is Publia. The name was regularly abbreviated P. Throughout Roman history, Pub... Found on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Publius_(praenomen)