The gens Sertoria was a minor plebeian family at ancient Rome. Few members of this gens appear in history, the most illustrious of whom was the Roman general Quintus Sertorius, who defied the dictator Sulla and his allies for a decade after the populares were driven from power in Rome.[1]
The nomen Sertorius is a patronymic surname, derived from the rare praenomen Sertor. Chase suggests that it was the equivalent of servator, meaning "one who protects" or "preserves".[2][3]
The Sertorii used a variety of common praenomina, including Gaius, Gnaeus, Lucius, Publius, Quintus, and Titus.
The Sertorii of the Republic were not divided into distinct families. The general Sertorius was born at Nursia, in Sabinum, where his family had lived for several generations. In imperial times there was a family bearing the cognomen Brocchus, originally referring to someone with prominent teeth.[4][5]