There were two main families of the Asinii at Rome. The earlier of these bore the cognomen
Pollio, a surname originally designating a polisher of armour. The sons of Gaius Asinius Pollio, consul in 40 BC, each bore different surnames, including
Pollio,
Agrippa,
Saloninus,
Celer, and
Gallus, some of which were passed on to their descendants. The Asinii Marcelli were descended from Marcus Asinius Agrippa. Of these names,
Agrippa was an old praenomen that came to be a common surname in the later
Republic and under the
Empire.
Saloninus was derived from the
Salonia gens, an ancient but undistinguished family from which this branch of the Asinii may have been descended.
Celer, swift, belongs to a large class of surnames describing an individual's habits or physical characteristics.
Gallus, a cockerel, is the same type of cognomen as
Asina. The other
stirps of the Asinii, with the cognomen
Rufus, originally indicating someone with red hair, appears in imperial times, and may well have been related to the Polliones. As with that family, the Asinii Rufi also bore a variety of other surnames, including
Bassus, stout, and
Quadratus, stocky, as well as names inherited from other gentes, such as
Frugi, an agnomen of the
Calpurnii, and
Nicomachus, a surname of Greek origin. Other surnames of the Asinii include
Dento, indicating someone with prominent teeth,
Lepidus, agreeable, and
Praetextatus, probably a reference to the
toga praetexta, a purple-bordered toga worn by magistrates and Roman youths.
Lepidus might allude to the bearer's descent from the
Aemilii Lepidi, an illustrious family of the Republic. It is unclear how these Asinii might have been related to the two main families of the gens, as is the case with those Asinii who are mentioned without any surnames. ==Members==