Carfulena gens

The gens Carfulena was an obscure plebeian family at ancient Rome toward the end of the Republic and under the early empire. The only member of this gens mentioned by Roman writers is Decimus Carfulenus, who served under Caesar during the Alexandrine War; a few other Carfuleni are known from inscriptions.

Origin
The nomen Carfulenus belongs to a class of gentilicia typically derived from other nomina, or occasionally place-names, with stems ending in -i, where the derivative suffix -enus substitutes for the more usual -inus.

Branches and cognomina
Three of the Carfuleni known from epigraphy are mentioned in the same inscription from Aquileia in Venetia and Histria, though it is unknown whether they were born or lived there. The only cognomen borne by any of them is Modestus, meaning "moderate", a common type of surname derived from the character of an individual.

Members

 * Decimus Carfulenus, who served under Caesar in 47 BC, during the Alexandrine War, was tribune of the plebs in 44, the year of Caesar's assassination, and subsequently perished in the Battle of Mutina, in 43.
 * Publius Carfulenus, the former master of the merchant Publius Carfulenus Modestus.
 * Publius Carfulenus P. l. Modestus, a freedman and negotiator, or merchant, mentioned in an inscription from Aquileia, dating from the reigns of Augustus or Tiberius.
 * Publius Carfulenus Princeps l., a freedman of Augustus or Tiberius, mentioned together with Publius Carfulenus Modestus in an inscription from Aquileia.