It was used by both patrician and plebeian families, and gave rise to the patronymic gentes Sextia and Sextilia.
[1][2] Sextus was about the tenth most-common praenomen for most of Roman history, although it became slightly more common in imperial times, as other praenomina declined in popularity.
The name survived the collapse of Roman civil institutions in the 5th and 6th centuries, and has continued in use into modern times.
[1][3] Sextus is the Latin word for sixth, and it falls into a class of similar praenomina including the masculine names Quintus, Septimus, Octavius, Nonus, and Decimus, as well as the feminine names Prima, Secunda, Tertia, Quarta, Septima, Octavia, Nona, and Decima.
The primary consideration seems to have been the desire to pass on family names.