Sammia gens


The gens Sammia or Samia was an obscure plebeian family of equestrian rank at ancient Rome. Few members of this gens are mentioned in history, but a number are known from inscriptions.

Praenomina

The main praenomina of the Sammii were Lucius and Sextus, to which they sometimes added other common names, including Gaius, Titus, and Quintus. There is also one example of the rare praenomen Tertius, perhaps indicative of the family's connection to Gaul, where unusual praenomina were fashionable.

Branches and cognomina

There seems to have been a large family by this name at Nemausus in Gallia Narbonensis. They probably held a hereditary priesthood, as several of them bear the title of flamen or flaminica. Some of them bore the cognomen Aper, referring to a wild boar, and belonging to a common class of surnames derived from the names of familiar animals and objects.

Members