Racilia gens


The gens Racilia was a minor plebeian family at ancient Rome. Members of this gens are mentioned as early as the fifth century BC, but few of them achieved any prominence in the Roman state.

Origin

The nomen Racilius belongs to a large class of gentilicia formed from other names using the suffix '. Such names were frequently, but not always derived from diminutives ending in -ulus or -ilus, but so abundant were names of this type that ' came to be regarded as a regular gentile-forming suffix. Here, Racilius seems to be formed from another nomen, Raecius.

Praenomina

The Racilii used a variety of the most common praenomina, including Gaius, Lucius, Gnaeus, Marcus, Publius, Quintus, and Titus. In addition to these, some of the women of the Racilii are known to have borne praenomina, including Polla and Gaia.

Branches and cognomina

None of the Racilii of the Republic appear to have borne cognomina, and there is no evidence that the gens was divided into distinct families, but a variety of surnames is found in imperial times.

Members