Sergia gens
The gens Sergia was a patrician family at ancient Rome, which held the highest offices of the Roman state from the first century of the Republic until imperial times. The first of the Sergii to obtain the consulship was Lucius Sergius Fidenas in 437 BC. Despite long and distinguished service, toward the end of the Republic the reputation of this gens suffered as a result of the conspiracy of Catiline. Origin. The Sergii claimed descent from Sergestus, one of the Trojans who came to Italy with Aeneas, a tradition mentioned by Vergil in the Aeneid. The etymology of  the nomen "Sergius" is problematic. Chase hesitantly suggests a connection with the praenomen "Servius", probably from an old Latin root meaning to preserve or keep safe. He classifies the nomen with other gentilicia that either originated at Rome, or cannot be shown to have come from anywhere else. However, the cognomen "Fidenas", borne by the first branch of this gens appearing in history, may indicate that they originally came from Fidenae, where Roman colonies had been planted for centuries. Praenomina. The main praenomen of the Sergia gens was "Lucius", which was used by all branches of the family at  all periods. "Gaius" was also used from the earliest times, while "Marcus" was favoured by the Sergii Sili. All of these were among the most common praenomina throughout Roman history. The only other name regularly used by the Sergii was "Manius", a relatively distinctive praenomen favoured by a few gentes, which belonged to one of the most illustrious of the Sergii of the early Republic, and was still in use after the Second Punic War. Other praenomina appear infrequently. Branches and cognomina. The cognomina of the Sergii during the Republic were "Catilina", "Esquilinus", "Fidenas", "Orata", "Paulus", "Plancus", and "Silus". Some  of the Sergii who appear in history had no surname. "Fidenas", the surname of the oldest distinct family of the Sergii, is said to have been obtained by Lucius Sergius Fidenas, the consul of 437 BC. The year before his consulship, the Romans had put down a revolt at Fidenae, an ancient Latin city about five miles north of Rome; the implication perhaps being that Sergius had participated in the recovery of the city. However, it may be that Sergius, or one of his ancestors, was a native of that city, where a Roman colony was said to have existed  since the early monarchial period. One of the Fidenates bore the additional surname "Coxo", applied to one with prominent hips. "Esquilinus" originally designated someone who lived on the Esquiline Hill, one of the Seven Hills of Rome, may have been a personal cognomen, as only one of the Sergii is known to have borne it. This cognomen belongs to a common class of surnames derived from the place of a person's origin or residence. The most distinguished family of the Sergii during the latter part of the Republic bore the cognomen "Silus", originally describing someone with an upturned nose . The first of this branch rose to fame during the Second Punic War, but by the time of Catiline, who was his great-grandson, they had fallen into poverty and obscurity. Of other surnames, "Orata" or "Aurata", golden, was the surname of a wealthy merchant of the Sergian gens, who is said to have obtained it either because of his substantial gold rings, or because he kept goldfish. Meanwhile, "Plancus", referring to someone with flat or splayed feet, belongs to a common class of surnames derived from the physical characteristics of the bearer. This is amended by some scholars to  Plautus, although the meaning is nearly identical.