Sariolena gens


The gens Sariolena was an obscure plebeian family at ancient Rome. They were of senatorial rank, and Lucius Sariolenus Naevius Fastus obtained the consulship in the time of Antoninus Pius.

Origin

The nomen Sariolenus belongs to a class of gentilicia derived from other names using the suffix -enus. The root of the name should be Sariolus, perhaps a diminutive of Sarius.

Praenomina

The only praenomina associated with the Sarioleni are Lucius, Publius, Quintus, and Titus, all of which were among the most common names throughout Roman history.

Branches and cognomina

There is no evidence that the Sarioleni were ever divided into distinct families, and all of their cognomina seem to have been personal, rather than inherited. Many belonged to freedmen, whose surnames had been their personal names prior to their manumission. Among other cognomina, Vocula, a diminutive of vox, a voice, seems to have been bestowed on the senator Sariolenus because of the rumours and gossip that were his stock-in-trade. Celsus was originally given to someone particularly tall. Licinus probably referred to someone with an upturned nose, while Rufus designated someone with red hair, and Proculus, originally a praenomen, was generally believed to have referred to someone born while his father was abroad.

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