Members of this gens are first mentioned towards the end of the Second Punic War, but the highest rank ever attained by any of the Tremellii under the Republic was that of praetor.
After falling into obscurity during the first century BC, the fortunes of this family briefly revived under the Empire, when Gnaeus Tremellius was appointed consul suffectus in AD 21, during the reign of Tiberius.
[1] The main praenomen of the Tremellii who rose to prominence in the Roman state was Gnaeus, although a few bore other names, including Gaius and Lucius.
Scrofa refers to a sow with piglets, and belongs to a large class of surnames derived from creatures and everyday objects.
[3][4] Flaccus seems to have been a personal surname, as it is borne by only one of the Tremellii; it originally designated someone with prominent or floppy ears, and belongs to a large class of cognomina derived from someone's physical features.