The gens Scribonia was a plebeian family of ancient Rome. Members of this gens first appear in history at the time of the Second Punic War, but the first of the Scribonii to obtain the consulship was Gaius Scribonius Curio in 76 BC. Origin The nomen Scribonius belongs to a large class of derived from cognomina ending in -o, most of which were of plebeian origin. The root of the name is , a writer. Praenomina The only praenomina known to have been used by the main families of the Scribonii are Lucius, used by the Scribonii Libones, and Gaius, used by the Curiones. Other praenomina are practically non-existent among the Scribonii appearing in history; the only exception is Marcus, found among one or two of the later Libones, who seem to have adopted it from the Livii. Branches and cognomina The two main families of the Scribonii under the Republic bore the cognomina Libo and Curio. Other surnames are found under the Empire. Libo, the only surname of the Scribonii to occur on coins, is apparently derived from , to sprinkle or pour, and was probably given to an ancestor of the family who poured libations. The Scribonii Libones were long associated with a sacred structure in the forum known as the Pueal Scribonianum or Puteal Libonis, frequently depicted on their coins. So called because it resembled a puteal, or wellhead, the structure enclosed a "bidental", a place that had been struck by lightning, or in one tradition the spot where the whetstone of the augur Attius Navius had stood, in the time of Lucius Tarquinius Priscus. The Puteal Scribonianum was dedicated by one of the Scribonii Libones, probably either the praetor of 204 BC, or the tribune of the plebs in 149. It was renovated by Lucius Scribonius Libo, either the praetor of 80 BC, or his son, the consul of 34. Curio became hereditary in one branch of the Scribonii after the first of the family was chosen Curio Maximus in 174 BC. Members Scribonii Libones Lucius Scribonius Libo, tribune of the plebs in 216 BC, unsuccessfully petitioned the senate to ransom the Roman soldiers taken prisoner at Cannae. He was praetor peregrinus in 204, and assigned the province of Gaul. Lucius Scribonius (L. f.) Libo, as curule aedile in 194 BC, presided over the first celebration of the Megalesia at Rome. Praetor peregrinus in 192, he