Why Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg keeps naming his kids after Roman emperors

Mark Zuckerberg has always been intrigued by Ancient Rome. He now has his own triumvirate.

Friday, the Facebook co-founder announced the birth of his third child, Aurelia, and revealed that he and his wife, Priscilla Chan, had chosen the name.

Zuckerberg posted the first image of his daughter to Instagram, describing her as “such a tiny blessing.”

The name Aurelia is a tribute to the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, and it is the third time in as many attempts that Zuckerberg has given one of his daughters a name that references one of history’s most powerful empires.

The first daughter of the 38-year-old is named Maxima, a play on the Roman name Maximus. His second daughter’s name, August, is an homage to Augustus Caesar, whom Zuckerberg has described as one of the “most intriguing” historical people.

The CEO‘s fascination with Rome began even before he had his first child. Zuckerberg stated in a 2018 interview with The New Yorker that he developed an interest in Ancient Rome while studying Latin in high school.

“You have a multitude of positive and negative complicated figures. I believe Augustus is among the most intriguing,” he stated at the time. In essence, he achieved two hundred years of international peace by employing a very hard strategy.

Indeed, Zuckerberg and Chan honeymooned in Rome following their 2012 marriage. Zuckerberg joked that the former emperor was a trip staple.

“My wife was making fun of me, saying she assumed Augustus was on the honeymoon with us,” he added. All the photographs depicted unique statues of Augustus.

According to data from the Social Security Administration, 592 girls were given the name Aurelia in 2021, ranking it 516th in popularity.