Gallus was an ancient Roman cognomen.
In Latin, the word Gallus had at least three distinct meanings:
Gallus referred to an inhabitant of Gaul, to a Celtic-speaking person, or to a person perceived as ethnically or culturally Celtic.
The Galli were the priests of Cybele, whom the Romans found notable for their self-castration as an act of religious devotion.
Gallus was also the word for rooster, and later through a pun became a symbol of France (ancient Gaul).
Individuals with the cognomen include:
Quintus Roscius Gallus (c. 126–62 BC), Roman actor
Gaius Asinius Gallus (d. 33), Roman consul
Lucius Afinius Gallus (fl. 62), Roman consul
Gaius Cornelius Gallus (69–26 BC), first Roman governor of Egypt, writer of elegiac verse
Cestius Gallus (d. 67), Roman legate
Trebonianus Gallus (206–253), Roman emperor (251–253)
Flavius Claudius Constantius Gallus (ca. 325/326–354), member of the Constantinian dynasty and Caesar of the Roman Empire (351–354)
Constantius Gallus (d. 354), cousin of Emperor Constantius II
Saint Gall (Saint Gallus), 7th century
