Several members of the family fell victim to the various plots and intrigues of the court of Nero, including the conspiracy of Gaius Calpurnius Piso.
[1] Lucius Annaeus Seneca, the first of the gens of whom we have definite knowledge, was a native of Corduba in the province of Hispania Ulterior.
Statius Annaeus, a friend of the family at Rome, may well have been a kinsman, and his praenomen supports the theory that the Annaei were of Oscan or Umbrian origin.
The three former were the most common Latin praenomina, while Statius was generally associated with foreigners, slaves, and freedmen at Rome.
The surname Florus, "shining", was used by a second-century poet, and perhaps also a historian of the same period, although whether he was actually a member of this gens is uncertain.