Aurelia (gens)

The gens Aurelia was a plebeian family at Rome. The first member of the gens who obtained the consulship was Gaius Aurelius Cotta in 252 BC, from which time the Aurelii become distinguished in history down to the end of the Republic. The Aurelii flourished under the Empire, and many later families of citizens enrolled under the authority of Emperors or magistrates bearing this nomen were also called Aurelius. The name became so common that it was sometimes abbreviated Aur., and by the latter centuries of the Empire it becomes difficult to distinguish members of the gens from other persons bearing the name.

The praenomina used by the Aurelii during the Republic were Gaius, Lucius, Marcus, and Publius. The Aurelii Orestides also used the praenomen Gnaeus. In imperial times, the Aurelii Fulvi used Titus, Marcus, and Lucius, while the Aurelii Symmachi used Quintus and Lucius.

The nomen Aurelius is usually connected with the Latin adjective aureus, meaning "golden", and may have referred to the color of a person's hair. However, the original form of the nomen may have been Auselius, much as the original forms of the nomina Furia, Numeria, Papiria, Valeria, and Veturia were Fusia, Numisia, Papisia, Valesia, and Vetusia. In this case, it may be derived from a name for the sun, although that too may share a common etymology with aureus.

The family-names of the Aurelii under the Republic are Cotta, Orestes, and Scaurus. On coins we find the cognomina Cotta and Scaurus, and perhaps Rufus, the last of which is not mentioned by historians. The surname Pecuniola, borne by a member of the gens during the First Punic War, probably relates to his circumstance of poverty.

...
Wikipedia