What was the name of Julius Caesar's mother?

Julius Caesar’s mother was Aurelia Cotta, a Roman noblewoman from the prominent Aurelii Cottae family. She was married to Gaius Julius Caesar, a praetor, and was the mother of Julius Caesar and his two sisters, Julia Major and Julia Minor.

Aurelia was widowed when Caesar was still young, because her husband died around 85 or 84 BC. She then played an important role in raising and protecting her children during a politically dangerous period. Ancient writers, including Plutarch and Tacitus, presented her as intelligent, disciplined, and an ideal Roman matron.

Her family connections were substantial. Her father was probably Lucius Aurelius Cotta, a consul in 119 BC, and several of her close male relatives also held the consulship. Through her daughter Julia Minor, Aurelia was the grandmother of Atia and the great-grandmother of Augustus, Rome’s first emperor.

Aurelia is sometimes listed simply as Aurelia, but Aurelia Cotta is the standard fuller name used for Caesar’s mother.