Members of this gens are first mentioned at the time of the Samnite Wars, but do not appear at Rome until the final century of the Republic.
Marcus Papius Mutilus was the only member of the family to attain the consulship, which he held in AD 9.
[3] The Papii who appear in ancient historians and achieved prominence at Rome bore the praenomina Gaius, Lucius, and Marcus, the three most common names throughout Roman history.
From the filiation of the consul Mutilus, we know that the Papii had also used Numerius, a much less common name, frequently although not exclusively associated with families of Samnite origin.
Faustus, meaning "fortunate" or "lucky", was an old praenomen that came into widespread use as a surname during imperial times.