the name of a family of the plebeian Fulvia gens. This family was originally called Paetinus [PAETINUS], and the name of Nobilior seems to have been first assumed by the consul of B. C. 255 [see below, No. 1], to indicate that he was more noble than any others of this name. His descendants dropped the name of Paetinus, and retained only that of Nobilior.
A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology
Smith, William
A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. William Smith, LLD, ed. 1890