Pupia gens


The gens Pupia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. Members of this gens are mentioned as early as 409 BC, when Publius Pupius was one of the first plebeian quaestors, but over the course of centuries they achieved little of significance, and rarely held any of the higher offices of the Roman state.

Origin

The nomen Pupius seems to be derived from the Latin pupus, a child. From this it seems that the Pupii were Latins, and Chase classifies them among those gentes that either originated at Rome, or cannot be shown to have come from anywhere else.

Praenomina

The Pupii favoured the praenomina Gnaeus, Lucius, and Marcus, all of which were common throughout Roman history. The only other praenomina found among the Pupii occurring in history are Publius, belonging to the first of this family to appear, and Aulus, appearing on coins.

Branches and cognomina

The only cognomen of the Pupii under the Republic is Rufus, red, usually referring to someone with red hair. This surname appears on coins of the Pupii bearing Greek inscriptions. The surname Piso, belonging to Marcus Pupius Piso, consul in 61 BC, was the result of his adoption from the Calpurnia gens.

Members