It was used by both patrician and plebeian families, and gave rise to the patronymic gens Servilia.
The name gradually became less common towards the end of the Republic, but was still used in imperial times.
This seems consistent with other Latin praenomina, such as Sertor, which appears to have a similar meaning.
[5] Varro had nothing to say about the name, although the epitome, De Praenominibus ("Concerning Praenomina") by Julius Paris, suggests that it was given to a child whose mother died in childbirth.
Dionysius of Halicarnassus, apparently followed by Festus, indicated that it was given to a child whose mother was held in bondage.