The
gens Aurelia was a
plebeian family at
Rome. The first member of the
gens who obtained the
consulship was Gaius Aurelius Cotta in 252 BC, from which time the Aurelii become distinguished in history down to the end of the Republic. The Aurelii flourished under the
Empire, and many later families of citizens enrolled under the authority of Emperors or magistrates bearing this nomen were also called
Aurelius. The name became so common that it was sometimes abbreviated
Aur., and by the latter centuries of the Empire it becomes difficult to distinguish members of the gens from other persons bearing the name.