Furii - Origin of The Gens

Origin of The Gens

The antiquity of the Furii is confirmed by the ancient form of the nomen, Fusius, found in the earliest days of the Republic. A similar process derived the nomina Papirius, Valerius and Vetusius from Papisius, Valesius and Vetusius. History leaves us in darkness as to the origin of the Furia gens; but, from sepulchral inscriptions found at Tusculum, we see that the name Furius was very common at that place, and hence it is generally inferred that the Furia gens, like the Fulvia, had come from Tusculum.

As the first member of the gens that occurs in history, Sex. Furius Medullinus, BC 488, is only five years later than the treaty of isopolity which Spurius Cassius Viscellinus concluded with the Latins, to whom the Tusculans belonged, the supposition of the Tusculan origin of the Furia gens does not appear at all improbable. However, the cognomen Medullinus, which belonged to the oldest branch of the gens, may indicate that the family came from the ancient Latin city of Medullia, which was conquered by Ancus Marcius, the fourth King of Rome, toward the end of the 7th century BC.

The nomen Furius is a patronymic surname derived from Fusus, apparently an ancient praenomen that had fallen out of use before historical times. This name was preserved, however, as a cognomen used by many of the early Furii, including the families of the Medullini and the Pacili. Cossus, a surname of the gens Cornelia, which they later revived as a praenomen, may have had a similar origin.