Seppiena gens


The gens Seppiena was an obscure plebeian family at ancient Rome. None of the Seppieni are mentioned in ancient writers, but several members of this gens are known from inscriptions.

Origin

The nomen Seppienus seems to be derived from the same root as that of the Seppia gens, and is thus a patronymic surname derived from the Oscan or Umbrian praenomen Seppius. That name is 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. Chase notes that the gentile-forming suffix was typical of Picenum and adjacent regions, and although the majority of the small number of Seppieni found in inscriptions appear to have been colonials, there are examples from Umbria and neighbouring Cisalpine Gaul, suggesting that the family was most likely of Umbrian origin.

Members