The gens Aulia was a Roman family during the period of the Republic, and was probably plebeian. They do not appear to have been particularly numerous, but one member of the gens, Quintus Aulius Cerretanus, obtained the consulship twice during the Second Samnite War, in 323 and 319 BC.
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Origin
The nomen Aulius is a patronymic surname, derived from the praenomen Aulus, just as Sextius was derived from Sextus, Marcius from Marcus, and Quinctius from Quintus. Although there were Aulii at Rome in the fourth century BC, the gens may have been spread throughout Latium, as one of them was prefect of the allies during the Second Punic War.
Praenomina
The most famous member of the Aulii bore the praenomen Quintus, as did his father and grandfather. A later Aulius was named Manius. Although no members by the name are known, the ancestor of the gens must have been called Aulus.
Branches and cognomina
The only cognomen belonging to this gens is Cerretanus.