Seppia gens


The gens Seppia was an obscure plebeian family at ancient Rome. Few members of this gens appear in history, but many are known from inscriptions.

Origin

The nomen Seppius is a patronymic surname derived from the Oscan praenomen Seppiis or Seppius, cognate with the rare Latin praenomen Septimus, and its more common derivative, the nomen Septimius. The root of all these names is the numeral seven, which in the earliest period would have been given either to a seventh child or seventh son, or to a child born in the month of September, originally the seventh month of the Roman calendar. The majority of the Seppii known from inscriptions seem to have lived in Samnium and adjacent portions of Italy, where Oscan languages were spoken; a large number of these are from the neighbourhoods of Beneventum and Venusia, in the southern part of the region. Chase lists Seppius among those nomina that were not of Roman origin, but which originated in other parts of Italy.

Praenomina

The Seppii bore a variety of common praenomina, apparently preferring Gaius, Marcus, Lucius, and Publius. In inscriptions there are also multiple instances of Aulus, Sextus Quintus, and Numerius, of which the last was relatively scarce at Rome, although common in Oscan-speaking regions, such as Samnium.

Branches and cognomina

As they only seem to have become incorporated into the Roman state toward the end of the Republic, the Seppii are not known to have been divided into separate branches. Although many early Seppii bore no cognomen, the family used a wide range of familiar surnames in imperial times. The most abundant of these seems to have been Rufus, referring to the colour red, and usually bestowed upon someone with red hair. This was typical of a large class of cognomina derived from a person's physical features, which often became hereditary over time, although it is not known whether the Seppii Rufi of Abellinum and Venusia constituted a distinct family.

Members