Valerius

Valerius is a Latin name that can refer to the Roman gens Valeria, one of the oldest and most influential noble families in the Republic, as well as to individuals who bore the given name in later periods. The personal name is derived from the Latin verb valere, meaning to be strong or healthy; the feminine form is Valeria. In Roman usage, Valerius appears as both a nomen gentile and a praenomen-bearing name, with numerous branches and cognomina over the centuries.

The gens Valeria produced many magistrates and soldiers who helped shape Roman history. Members held high offices from the early Republic and spread into later periods, adopting cognomina such as Potitus, Poplicola, Flaccus, Messalla, and Corvinus. This diversity reflects both the clan’s longevity and its integration into the evolving Roman social structure, including both patrician and plebeian lines.

Notable bearers include Publius Valerius Publicola, a consul who helped establish the Roman Republic after the expulsion of the kings; Marcus Valerius Corvus, a celebrated early Republican general and statesman; Quintus Valerius Flaccus, the Augustan-era poet known for the Argonautica; Valerius Maximus, a 1st-century CE author of Memorable Deeds and Sayings; and Valerius Cordus, a 16th-century German physician and botanist who Latinized his name as Valerius Cordus. In later centuries, Valerius continues to be used as a given name in Latin-derived contexts and occasionally as a surname.

Valerius remains a toponymic and onomastic element in the study of Roman history, literature, and onomastics.