Can any old European families legitimately trace their ancestry to the ancient R

Question:

Can any old European families legitimately trace their ancestry to the ancient Roman Empire?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: There are a handful of legitimate genealogies that do go back to the Roman Empire with credible information (most being in Italy proper and based on land records), but during the times of Constantine and the Merovingian rule, the records relied upon by genealogists were being "tweaked" for personal benefit and get murky. The only records I would personally rely upon come from the empirical evidence of historians of the day where the records have second and third tier verification. We've found that there are former senators and citizens who did have repeated mention in historical records, and their children are likewise mentioned. But those are few and far between. The farther you get from the city of Rome, the more "tweaking" and "creative record-keeping" we find. Stop when you see mention of Christ having three kids and one of them being the ancestor of Charlemagne.