Head to head · Girls' names
Elodie vs Octavia
#310 vs #308 in 2025
Octavia is a whisker ahead (#308 vs #310 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Octavia is holding its place on the charts, Elodie is climbing the charts fast. On momentum, Elodie has the edge.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Octavia leads 5 measures of 6; Elodie leads 1.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Elodie #874, Octavia #378 — Octavia higher
- 1890s: Elodie #1230, Octavia #444 — Octavia higher
- 1900s: Elodie #1606, Octavia #487 — Octavia higher
- 1910s: Elodie #2137, Octavia #655 — Octavia higher
- 1920s: Elodie #2871, Octavia #813 — Octavia higher
- 1930s: Elodie #2999, Octavia #978 — Octavia higher
- 1940s: Elodie #3931, Octavia #1293 — Octavia higher
- 1950s: Elodie #5042, Octavia #1230 — Octavia higher
- 1960s: Elodie #6406, Octavia #1189 — Octavia higher
- 1970s: Elodie #8374, Octavia #860 — Octavia higher
- 1980s: Elodie #9889, Octavia #641 — Octavia higher
- 1990s: Elodie #9343, Octavia #742 — Octavia higher
- 2000s: Elodie #4306, Octavia #1484 — Octavia higher
- 2010s: Elodie #1350, Octavia #1572 — Elodie higher
- 2020s: Elodie #591, Octavia #285 — Octavia higher
Octavia stood higher in 14 of 15 decades; Octavia took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Elodie | Octavia |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #874 | #378 |
| 1890s | #1230 | #444 |
| 1900s | #1606 | #487 |
| 1910s | #2137 | #655 |
| 1920s | #2871 | #813 |
| 1930s | #2999 | #978 |
| 1940s | #3931 | #1293 |
| 1950s | #5042 | #1230 |
| 1960s | #6406 | #1189 |
| 1970s | #8374 | #860 |
| 1980s | #9889 | #641 |
| 1990s | #9343 | #742 |
| 2000s | #4306 | #1484 |
| 2010s | #1350 | #1572 |
| 2020s | #591 | #285 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Elodie
- England & Wales#55
Octavia
Not charting outside the US.
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Elodie
most likely "foreign riches" or "other wealth"
The leading reading traces Alodia to Gothic or Visigothic roots — elements meaning "other" and "wealth, property," the same family that gave medieval law the word allod for land held outright. A second reading, often repeated, derives it from Greek helodes, "marshy," and is sometimes prettied up as "marsh flower." The Germanic account has the better claim; neither is fully closed.
Alodia → Alodie → Élodie → Elodie
How it traveled
The oldest form is Alodia, borne by one of two sisters, Nunilo and Alodia, executed in ninth-century Muslim Spain and venerated afterwards as saints in Aragon and Navarre — which is why the name survived at all in the Iberian church calendars. Medieval Latin Alodia softened into French Alodie and then Élodie, and there it sat quietly for centuries as a saint's-day name.
Octavia
Eighth
The feminine of the Roman name Octavius, from Latin octavus, 'eighth'.
octavus (Latin, 'eighth') → Octavius → Octavia → Ottavia / Octavie
How it traveled
Roman families often numbered their children, and the ordinals hardened into names: Quintus for a fifth, Sextus for a sixth, Octavius for an eighth. Octavia was the feminine form and the standard name for daughters of the gens Octavia, worn by Augustus's sister and, a generation or two later, by the first wife of the emperor Nero.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Elodie
EL-uh-dee
The usual American reading stresses the first syllable. In French it is closer to ay-law-DEE, with the weight at the end. Both are correct for the name; it helps to pick one and say it first when you introduce her.
- Ellie — The most common English short form; also widely used as a standalone given name, so it is shared with Eleanor, Ella and Elizabeth.
- Elle — Informal one-syllable clip, also a given name in its own right.
- Lodie — Family-level nickname drawn from the back half of the name rather than the front.
- Elo — Used informally in French-speaking households.
- Also Dee, El.
Octavia
ok-TAY-vee-uh
Four syllables, stress on the second. Italian Ottavia and Spanish Octavia put an 'ah' in that middle syllable instead.
- Tavi — Informal, drawn from the stressed middle of the name; also spelled Tavvy.
- Tavia — Used as a short form and also recorded on its own as a given name.
- Via — Informal and short; stands alone as a given name in its own right.
- Ottie — Informal, patterned on the older English nicknames Lottie and Hattie.
- Also Occy.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Elodie if you want…
- a name on the way upup 393 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesElodie is 3 syllables to Octavia's 4
- a name that charts abroad tooElodie is on the national lists of England & Wales
- a newer arrivalElodie entered the US charts in 1881
Choose Octavia if you want…
- a name holding steadyOctavia is holding its place on the charts
- a name with more sound in itOctavia runs 4 syllables, Elodie 3
- a long American recordOctavia was already in use when US records began in 1880
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Elodie
Strengths
- Ready-made short forms already in circulation — Ellie, Elle, Dee — so nothing has to be invented.
- A documented line back to a ninth-century Spanish saint's name, Alodia, with no gaps that need papering over.
- Works across languages: Élodie in French, Alodia in Spanish, Elodia in Italian, all recognizably the same name.
To consider
- It is very often heard as Melody the first time, and sometimes read that way on a page. Expect a gentle correction to become routine.
- Two stress patterns compete — EL-uh-dee and the French ay-law-DEE — so she will likely hear both, and may need to choose which one she answers to.
- The accent in Élodie is standard in French and optional in English. Whichever you register, the other version will show up on forms and mail.
Octavia
Strengths
- Spelled the way it sounds for an English reader, with no silent letters or competing variants to correct.
- An unbroken written record from Roman inscriptions to the present, and continuous use in the US without ever disappearing.
- Several established short forms — Tavi, Tavia, Via — so it can be shortened without inventing anything.
To consider
- The meaning is a number, and it means 'eighth'. Most people never think about it; a few will do the arithmetic out loud about your firstborn.
- It sits close to Olivia, which is one of the most-used girls' names in the country. Expect a certain amount of being misheard and gently corrected over a phone line.
- Four syllables is a lot to say in full, so in practice she will probably answer to a short form at school whether or not you pick one.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Elodie
59%chance Elodie feels dated by 2040
Elodie is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
Octavia
40%chance Octavia feels dated by 2040
Octavia sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Elodie and Octavia in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Elodie and Octavia?
Put both to the vote.
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
Every list here names both Elodie and Octavia — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Elodie or Octavia — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Elodie or Octavia?
- Octavia, in 2025: Octavia ranked #308 with 982 babies; Elodie ranked #310 with 980 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Elodie or Octavia?
- Elodie. Over the last five years Elodie moved up 393 places; Octavia moved up 25 places.
- Which is the older name, Elodie or Octavia?
- Elodie entered the US charts in 1881; Octavia was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Octavia is the older name.
- How many people are named Elodie and Octavia?
- About 6,000 people named Elodie are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 20,000 people named Octavia are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Elodies or Octavias in the classroom?
- Elodie will almost certainly be the only one in school. Octavia will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025; international figures from national statistics agencies. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
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