What is the name "Gratus"

[Jason Micallef]

This name always bugs me as i can never find much information about it. I read that one of the praetorians who finds Claudius after Caligulas assasination is named Gratus, as well as the prefect of judea prior to Pilate was another Gratus.

My question is what type of name is this? Is it a prenomen or a cognomen? or nomen? was it a name of higher classed citizens or more of a plebian name?

[Nathan Ross]

Gratus was a cognomen. The governor of Judea was Valerius Gratus, and there was a Munatius Gratus mixed up in the Pisonian conspiracy againt Nero. But the name was quite common; a quick scan of the inscriptions reveals a Caius Julius Gratus from Berytus, vet(eranus) coh(ortis) V prae(toriae), for example, and a Publius Bruttius Gratus of Aquileia, (centurio) c(o)hort(is) I praet(oriae) / [primus] pi[l(us)] leg(ionis) XIIII, among hundreds of other Grati.

[Longovicium]

Grazie, Nathan.