Pontic Steppe Caucasus East Asia Eastern Europe Northern Europe Pontic Steppe Northern/Eastern Steppe Europe South Asia Steppe Europe Caucasus Central Asia India Indo-Aryans Iranians Nuristanis East Asia Europe East Asia Europe Indo-Aryan Iranian Indo-Aryan Iranian Others European The gens (plural gentes) was a Roman family, of Italic or Etruscan origins, consisting of all those individuals who shared the same nomen and claimed descent from a common ancestor.
It was an important social and legal structure in early Roman history.
[1][2] The distinguishing characteristic of a gens was the nomen gentilicium, or gentile name.
All nomina were based on other nouns, such as personal names, occupations, physical characteristics or behaviors, or locations.
No Roman gentes began with "X", and the letters "Y" and "Z" occurred only in names borrowed from Greek.