At first the kabane (the hereditary title used in ancient Japan to denote rank and political standing) of the Ono clan was omi (one of kabane); then by the reformed kabane system yakusa no kabane (collective term for eight official titles conferred upon nobles by Emperor Tenmu in 684) the clan's kabane became ason.
姓ははじめは臣であったが、八色の姓により朝臣に列せられた。