Pedania (gens)


The gens Pedania was a minor plebeian family at Rome. Members of this gens are first mentioned at the time of the Second Punic War, but they achieved little prominence until imperial times, when the ill-starred Lucius Pedanius Secundus attained the consulship under Nero.

Origin

The great majority of nomina ending in -anius were derived from place-names or cognomina ending in -anus. Such gentilicia were frequently, although not exclusively, of Umbrian origin. There is also an old Latin cognomen of frequent occurrence, Pedo, referring to someone with broad feet, which could have given rise to a similar nomen, although in this case Pedonius would be the expected form. However, Pedonius is not attested, nor are there clear examples of a surname Pedanus, so Pedo as the root of Pedanius remains a strong possibility.

Members