Passiena gens
The gens Passiena, occasionally written Passienia, Passenia, Passennia, or Passenna, was a plebeian family at ancient Rome, originally of equestrian rank, but at least one member was later admitted to the patriciate. Members of this gens appear in history from the early years of the Empire down to the third century, and several obtained the consulship, beginning with Lucius Passienus Rufus in 4 BC. Origin. The varying orthography of the nomen makes it difficult to be certain of its origin, but "Passienus" seems to be the most common. The gentile-forming suffix "-enus" was not typical of Latin  names, but was common in Picenum and Umbria. This has been regularized to "Passienius" or "Passenius" in a few instances, giving the name a more Roman appearance; the form "Passennus", found in some sources with other variants, would be typical of a Latinized Etruscan gentilicium, originally ending in "-enna", but this resemblance is probably accidental.