Laberia (gens)


The gens Laberia was a minor plebeian family at Rome. Members of this gens are first mentioned in the second century BC, at which time they held senatorial rank. Most of the members mentioned later were equites, but toward end of the first century AD they attained the consulship, which several of them held throughout the second century.

Origin

As the Laberii first appear in the latter part of the Republic, and then as a relatively obscure family, there are no surviving stories or legends about their origin; nor do they bear any surnames that might point to a non-Latin origin. Chase mentions a common Roman surname, Labeo, deriving from labrum, and referring to someone with thick or prominent lips; but he does not connect it with the origin of any gentilicia. The nomen Laberius belongs to a class of gentilicia formed with relatively uncommon suffixes, which never became widely distributed; it resembles nomina such as Numerius, Papirius, and Valerius, nomina belonging to old Latin or Sabine families, which originally ended in, gradually weakening to during the period of archaic Latin, in the early or middle Republic.

Praenomina

The main praenomina of the Laberii were Lucius and Quintus, two of the most common names in every period of Roman history. Some of the Laberii bore more distinctive names, including Decimus and Manius, perhaps given to younger children in the gens. The ubiquitous praenomen Gaius appears among the Laberii of the second century.

Branches and cognomina

The earliest Laberii mentioned in history bear no surname. The first which appears is Durus, borne by one of Caesar's military tribunes, which translates as "hardy" or "tough", and belongs to an abundant class of cognomina derived from the character of an individual. This may have been a personal surname, as it was not passed down to any of the other Laberii known to history.
The only distinct family of the Laberii bore the cognomen Maximus, literally meaning "very great" or "greatest", a common surname throughout Roman history. Although it belonged to the most illustrious branch of this family, it may originally have designated the line descending from the eldest son, rather than portending "future greatness". At least four generations of this family are known, beginning with Lucius Laberius Maximus, aedile at Lanuvium in the mid-first century. Some of the later consuls of the Laberia gens may also have been descendants of this family, although they bore other surnames, including Priscus, which could mean "old", "elder", or "old-fashioned", and Quartinus, a diminutive of quartus, "a fourth", likely referring to a younger child.

Members