The gens Numisia was a family at Rome. Members of this gens are first mentioned in the fourth century BC, and from the second century BC to imperial times, they held a number of important magistracies. The name Numisius is frequently confused with that of Numicius, and in fact it seems probable that the two were originally the same. The Numicii of the early Republic are thought to have been patricians, and the Numisii mentioned in later sources were plebeians; but patrician families frequently developed plebeian branches over time.
Origin
In all probability, the nomenNumisius is merely a different orthography of Numicius, although this does not establish which is the original form. Numicius appears to belong to a class of gentilicia formed from other names ending in -ex, -icis, or -icus, which took -icius as a suffix. But if Numisius is the true orthography, then the nomen is probably derived from the praenomenNumerius.
The Numisii of the Republic were not divided into any families, and none of them bore any surname. Various cognomina are found in imperial times, of which the most notable may be Lupus, "a wolf", and Rufus, "red", typically given to someone with red hair.
Members
Lucius Numisius, one of the praetors of the Latin League in 340 BC, and subsequently the principal commander of the Latin forces during the Latin War.
Numisia Galla, a woman whose cause is described by the elder Seneca.
Numisius, an architect, who built the theatre at Herculaneum.
Gaius Numisius, a member of an important local family of Carthago Nova, named on a stone removed from the Monastery of San Ginés de la Jara in 2005.
Numisius Lupus, commander of the eighth legion in Moesia. When the province was invaded by the Roxolani, Lupus and his fellow commanders met and defeated them decisively, and were rewarded with the insignia of consuls.
Numisius Rufus, a legate who with Mummius Lupercus, helped defend Vetera Castra during the rebellion of Civilis, in AD 69 and 70. He escaped the camp before it fell, and went to Novaesium, where he was taken prisoner. He was taken to Treviri, where he was put to death by Valentinus and Tutor.
Publius Numisius Celer, the father of Numisia Celerina.
Numisia P. f. Celerina, the wife of Decimus Fonteius Frontinianus Lucius Stertinius Rufinus, legate in Numidia from AD 160 to 162.
