The gens Memmia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. The first member of the gens to achieve prominence was Gaius Memmius Gallus, praetor in 172 BC. From the period of the Jugurthine War to the age of Augustus they contributed numerous tribunes to the Republic.

Origin

The poet Vergil linked the family of the Memmii with the Trojan hero Mnestheus. This late tradition suggests that by the end of the Republic, the gens had become a conspicuous part of the Roman nobility. The nomen Memmius is classified by Chase with those gentilicia that either originated at Rome, or cannot be shown to have come from anywhere else. From its morphology, the name could be derived from a cognomen, Memmus, the significance of which is unknown. The use of Quirinus, a Sabine deity, on the denarii of Gaius Memmius in 56 BC, perhaps alludes to a Sabine origin of the gens.

Praenomina

The main praenomina of the Memmii were Gaius, Lucius, Quintus, and Publius. There is also at least one example of Titus.

Branches and cognomina

The Memmii of the Republic did not possess hereditary surnames, but two distinct families are identifiable by their respective voting tribes, the Galeria and the Menenia. They did nevertheless use a number of personal cognomina, including Quirinus, thought to have been the name of a Sabine god, who came to be equated with both Janus and Romulus; Gallus, referring to a cockerel, or perhaps to a Gaul; and Geminus, traditionally given to a twin. Other cognomina are found in imperial times, including Maximus, given to an eldest brother, or someone particularly notable; Regulus, a diminutive of rex, a king, used by a number of old Roman families; Pollio, a polisher, particularly of armour; Afer, referring to the province of Africa; and Senecio, a diminutive of senex, an old man.

Members

Footnotes