Atilia gens

The gens Atilia, sometimes written Atillia, was a plebeian family at ancient Rome, which rose to prominence at the beginning of the fourth century BC.

[1] Chase classifies the nomen Atilius with a small group of gentilicia probably formed from praenomina ending in -ius using the suffix -ilius, a morphology common in names of Latin origin.

[2] The Atilii favored the praenomina Lucius, Marcus, and Gaius, the three most common names throughout Roman history, to which they sometimes added Aulus and Sextus.

[3][4] Luscus, the first surname associated with the Atilii appearing in history, was a common name originally describing someone with poor eyesight, belonging to a large class of cognomina derived from the physical characteristics of individuals.

[11] Likewise, Nomentanus, the name of one of the Atilii during the late Republic, is derived from the Nomentum, an ancient city of Latium, although his particular connection with that town is unknown.