Little is known about the early life and family background of Gordian I. There is no reliable evidence on his family origins. Gordian I was said to be related to prominent Senators of his time. His praenomen and nomen "Marcus Antonius" suggested that his paternal ancestors received Roman citizenship under the Triumvir Mark Antony, or one of his daughters, during the late Roman Republic. Gordian’s cognomen ‘Gordianus’ also indicates that his family origins were from Anatolia, more specifically Galatia or Cappadocia.