Son of the philosopher Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius^[1] and of Rusticiana (his aunts were Galla and Proba), Boethius was the brother of Symmachus, with whom he shared the consulate,^[2] chosen by the Ostrogothic court.

His father fell into disgrace with the Ostrogothic ruler and had his own property confiscated; at the death of king Theodoric the Great (526), these properties were given back to Boethius and Symmachus.^[3] Boethius is known to have served as praetorian prefect of Byzantine North Africa from 560 to 561.^[4]

John R.C. Martyn suggests that Boethius had three children:^[4]

• Boethius, who is known to be Primate of Byzacena in North Africa;
• Symmachus, a patrician, who was still alive in February 601;
• Rusticiana, a correspondent of Pope Gregory the Great and patron of the Catholic church in Rome; her daughter Eusebia married into the Apion family of Byzantine Egypt, and Eusebia's son was Strategius Apion.

• CIL IX, 2074 CIL X, 4496
• Jones, A.H.M.; Martindale, J. R.; Morris, John, eds. (1980). "Fl. Boethius 3". Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire. Vol. II. p. 232. ISBN 0-521-20159-4.