Are there people alive today (or 20 years ago today) who can reliably trace their history all the way back to Ancient Rome, or have those genealogical records been lost?

by [deleted]

That is, if such records ever existed.

EDIT: To be specific, I mean trace their lineage back to specific Roman families or clans. Not just that they had people living in the region that was once Ancient Rome in ancient times -- although that would be of interest to me, as a start.

Searocksandtrees