The gens Annaea was a plebeian family at Rome during the first century BC, and the early centuries of the Empire. Members of this gens were distinguished for their love of literary pursuits. Several members of the family fell victim to the various plots and intrigues of the court of Nero, including the conspiracy of Gaius Calpurnius Piso.
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Origin
Lucius Annaeus Seneca, the first of the gens of whom we have definite knowledge, was a native of Corduba in the province of Hispania Ulterior. However, his name and those of his descendants are clearly of Roman character, arguing that the family was descended from Roman colonists, and not native to Spain. Statius Annaeus, a friend of the family at Rome, may well have been a kinsman, and his praenomen suggests that the Annaei might have been of Oscan origin.
Praenomina
The only praenomina associated with the Annaei are Lucius, Marcus, and Statius. Since nothing is known of the physician Statius Annaeus' origin, it is possible that he was a freedman, and that Statius was not regularly used by the family. However, if the Annaei were of Oscan origin, Statius could well have been a family name.
Branches and cognomina
The Annaei do not appear to have had any distinct branches, but, following a trend which occurred throughout imperial times, each child of the elder Seneca bore a different cognomen, including the surnames Novatus, Seneca, and Mela or Mella. Annaeus Mela's son received the cognomen Lucanus, in honor of his grandfather, Anicius Lucanus, a prominent lawyer at Corduba. This surname probably referred originally to a native of Lucania. A freedman of the Annaei bore the cognomen Cornutus. The surname Florus was used by a second-century poet, and perhaps also a historian of the same period, although whether he was actually a member of this gens is uncertain.