Zeno's original name was Tarasis, and more accurately "Tarasikodissa" in his native Isaurian language (). Tarasis was born in Isauria, at Rusumblada, later renamed Zenopolis in Zeno's honour. His father was called Kodisa (as attested by his patronymic "Tarasicodissa"), his mother Lallis, his brother Longinus. Tarasis had a wife, Arcadia, whose name indicates a relationship with the Constantinopolitan aristocracy, and whose statue was erected near the Baths of Arcadius, along the steps that led to Topoi. Near Eastern and other Christian traditions maintain that Zeno had two daughters, Hilaria and Theopiste, who followed a religious life, but historical sources attest the existence of only one son by Arcadia, called Zenon. According to ancient sources, Zeno's prestigious career—he had fought against Attila in 447 to defend Constantinople and been consul the following year—was the reason why another Isaurian officer, Tarasis, chose the Greek name Zeno when he married into the Imperial family, thus being known as Zeno when he rose to the throne. Some modern historians suggest that the Isaurian general Zeno was the father of the emperor, but there is no consensus about this, and other sources suggest that Tarasis was a member of Zeno's entourage.