:''This page is about the Latin praenomen. For a list of prominent individuals with this name, see Statius (disambiguation)''. Statius is a Latin '' praenomen'', or personal name, which was used during the period of the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Ki ...

, and into imperial times. It was not widely used at Rome, but gave rise to the patronymic ''gens Statilia''. The feminine form is ''Statia''. It is not usually abbreviated, but is sometimes found with the abbreviations St. and Sta.

Origin and meaning of the name

Although it was occasionally used by families of Latin origin, the praenomen Statius occurs much more frequently in Oscan ''gentes'', and particularly amongst the Samnites. Chase concludes that the name is clearly of Oscan origin, although it may be that it belongs to that class of names which was common to both Oscan and Latin. Aulus Gellius recorded the tradition that Statius was a name originally given to persons of servile origin. This belief probably arose because many of the people who bore this name at Rome arrived as captives taken during wars between Rome and various Oscan peoples. However, this belief also must have helped to prevent Statius from becoming a popular name at Rome. It is ironic that this tradition was recorded by Gellius, whose '' nomen'' reveals his own family's Oscan origin.George Davis Chase, "The Origin of Roman Praenomina", in ''Harvard Studies in Classical Philology'', vol. VIII (1897)

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Statius (Praenomen) Ancient Roman praenomina