According to legend, a noble Genoese lady named Auria or Oria della Volta fell in love with a noble pilgrim who was going to Jerusalem for the First Crusade; his name was Arduino di Narbonne but their children were named after the mother-de Oria, the children of Oria.
Documentary evidence refers to two members of that family, Martino and Genuardo, in 1110; they are called filii Auriae (the sons or children of Oria).