This name appears to have been originally Lucanian or Samnite, for the Statii, mentioned before the time of Julius Caesar, all belong to the nations of southern Italy, with the solitary exception of T. Statius who is said to have been tribune of the plebs at Rome in B. C. 475. The Statii first acquired historical importance by the exploits of L. Statius Murcus, the legatus of Caesar, whose name appears on coins [MURCUS], but none of them obtained the consulship during the republican period, and the first person of the name who was raised to this honour was L. Statius Quadratus, in A. D. 142. The Statii bore several cognomens, which are given below.