The gens Poppaea was a minor plebeian family at ancient Rome. Members of this gens first appear under the early Empire, when two brothers served as consuls in AD 9. The Roman empress Poppaea Sabina was a descendant of this family, but few others achieved any prominence in the Roman state. A number of Poppaei are known from inscriptions. The name is sometimes confused with that of Pompeia.
The consul Gaius Poppaeus Sabinus is said to have come from an undistinguished family, and to have owed his lengthy career more to his competence than his brilliance.[1] There is little evidence of the Poppaei prior to the first century, but from inscriptions the family seems to have been concentrated in Campania. The cognomen Sabinus used by the most prominent branch of the gens suggests that they claimed Sabine ancestry.[2] The region of Campania where the greatest number of Poppaei are found was associated with the Samnites, an Oscan-speaking people who also claimed Sabine descent.[3] The family of empress Poppaea Sabina seems to have come from Pompeii.[4]
The chief praenomina of the Poppaei were Gaius and Quintus, both of which were used by the most prominent stirps the Poppaei Sabini. A few members of the gens also used other names, such as Publius, Lucius, Sextus, and Titus. All of these were common names throughout Roman history. A single use of the rare praenomen Potitus among the Sabini is also attested, this name was most commonly used by the Valerii (although as a cognomen).