Members of this gens are first mentioned in the early decades of the Empire, but they did not become prominent until the time of Commodus, in the late second century, from which period several of them attained positions of high distinction in the Roman state.
[1][2] The nomen Ragonius belongs to a class of gentilicia formed using the suffix -onius, typically of plebeian origin, and frequently of Oscan ancestry.
Such names were originally formed from cognomina ending in -o, but once they became common, -onius came to be regarded as a regular gentile-forming suffix, and was used in cases where it had no morphological justification.
[3] The origin of Ragonius is obscure, but Chase suggests a possible etymological relationship to raga, a variation of braca, a harness, or, in the plural, breeches.
[5] The Ragonii used a variety of common surnames, including Celer, swift, Celsus, tall, Clarus, bright or famous, and Priscus, elder.