The Gaulish ethnic name Tectosages, lit. 'the ones seeking possessions', is traditionally explained referring it to the historical migrations of these people. However there are many reasons, also linguistic, to reject such a theory. The aim of this article is to propose an alternative hypothesis, based on the evidence got out of the Irish and Gaulish culture. It may be supposed that a name like Tectosages is related to an ancient social subdivision in age grades. Examples of similar habits can also be found in other Indo-European civilisations.