The earliest cognomen found amongst the Manlii is "Cincinnatus", better known from the Quinctia gens. This name originally referred to a person with fine, curly hair. The descendants of Gnaeus Manlius Cincinnatus bore the surname "Vulso", meaning "plucked", perhaps chosen for its contrast to "Cincinnatus". Münzer, noting that the cognomen "Cincinnatus" is missing from the older historians, supposed that it might be a mistake, and that "Vulso" was the original surname of the Manlian gens. The Manlii Vulsones flourished for over three hundred years.