The Acilii Aviolae appear at the very end of the Republic, or under the early emperors. There is some confusion between them and the Glabriones, with the consul of BC 33 being identified as "Marcus Acilius Glabrio" in some writers, and "Manius Acilius Aviola" in others. Given the antiquity of the Glabriones, it seems likely that one of them was the ancestor of the Aviolae, and might have used both surnames at various points in time. As for the name "Aviola", it seems to be a diminutive, presumably of , "grandmother".