The gens Furia, originally written Fusia, and sometimes found as Fouria on coins, was one of the most ancient and noble patrician houses at Rome. Its members held the highest offices of the state throughout the period of the Roman Republic. The first of the Furii to attain the consulship was Sextus Furius in 488 BC. Origin 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 Veturius from Papisius, Valesius and Vetusius. This change probably occurred after the orthographic reform of Appius Claudius Caecus, passed during his censorship in 312 BC. History leaves us in darkness as to the origin of the Furia gens. A legendary figure named Spurius Fusius appears representing the Roman priests in the time of Tullus Hostilius. 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, Sextus Furius, BC 488, is only five years later than the treaty of isopolity which Spurius Cassius Vecellinus 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. Praenomina The principal names used by members of this family are Lucius, Spurius, Publius, Marcus, Agrippa, Sextus, and Quintus. The Furii Pacili used Gaius, a name not used by other branches of the gens. Other praenomina appear towards the end of the Republic, and may represent plebeian branches of the family. The Furii Brocchi are distinguished by their use of Gnaeus and Titus. A poet during the late second century BC bore the praenomen Aulus,