Many members of the family acted as military commanders or ecclesiastical dignitaries, including many cardinals and four popes.
The family is on historical record beginning with Trasimondo, the father of Lotario Conti, who became Pope Innocent III in 1198.
Torquato Conti (1591–1636) served as a general-field marshal of the Holy Roman Empire during the Thirty Years' War, where his cruelty earned him the nickname The Devil.
The family became divided into numerous branches, the principal of which were the counts of Segni and Valmontone, and the dukes of Poli and Guadagnolo (cf.
The former branch was extinct with Donna Fulvia (died 1611), who had married the count Sforza of Santa Fiora.