- Origin: Latin
- Meaning: debated
- Variants: Lollianus (m), Lolliana (f), Lollina (f)
Lollius (pronounced LOH-lee-us) was an old Roman nomen gentilicium — that is, a family name identifying the gens Lollia, a plebeian family attested since the late Republic.
The feminine form, Lollia (LOH-lee-ah), denoted women of that lineage.
The etymology is not entirely certain, scholars have proposed that it could derive from a Latin word, lolium, meaning (“darnel grass”), while others suggest a Sabine or Oscan origin of unknown meaning.
Notable bearers from antiquity include:
- Marcus Lollius (M. Lollius) – Roman consul in 21 BC, a confidant of Augustus, later disgraced after a military defeat in Germany.
- Lollia Paulina (15 BC – 49 AD) – renowned for her beauty and extravagance, she was briefly the wife of Emperor Caligula and later courted by Claudius before being exiled and forced to commit suicide by Agrippina the Younger for witchcraft.
- Lollius Urbicus (2nd century AD) – a distinguished Roman governor of Britain under Antoninus Pius, remembered in inscriptions on the Antonine Wall in Scotland.
Other historical forms include:
- Lòl·lia (Catalan)
- Lollie (French)
- Lolia (Portuguese, Spanish)
While Lollius remains primarily of scholarly or historical interest, Lollia has quiet potential as a revival name. It resembles fashionable names like Lola, Luna, and Lilia, yet carries an authentic Roman pedigree.
Pronounced LOH-lee-ah or LOH-lyah, it has a lilting, floral sound that feels simultaneously ancient and elegant.
Sources
